(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to immediately release three journalists, two of whom were recently arrested and one who has been imprisoned for more than a year. In an 8 October 2004 letter to the head of state, the organisation called for the release of Nabil Fayad, who was arrested […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to immediately release three journalists, two of whom were recently arrested and one who has been imprisoned for more than a year.
In an 8 October 2004 letter to the head of state, the organisation called for the release of Nabil Fayad, who was arrested on 30 September, Jihad Nasra, arrested on 1 October, and Massud Hamid, who has been held for over a year.
As Hamid’s 10 October trial before the Supreme State Court approaches, the organisation called for the charges against him to be dropped.
“We strongly condemn the unfair arrests of Nabil Fayad and Jihad Nasra, apparently for their liberal stance. Our concern is all the greater since we do not know the nature of the charges against the two journalists or where they are being detained,” said RSF. “We call for their immediate release unless the Syrian authorities can provide solid evidence of their guilt.”
“As for the young Kurdish photographer Massud Hamid, we demand that charges against him be dropped. The Syrian government cannot go on stifling free expression, particularly on the Internet, with impunity and in flagrant violation of the international treaties it has signed,” the organisation added.
Fayad, a journalist and writer, contributes to the website of the political review “Annaqed” (http://www.annaqed.com) and the Kuwaiti daily “al-Seyassah”. He is also one of the founders of “Liberal Syria” (http://www.liberalsyria.com), a new liberal online discussion forum. In his articles, Fayad has criticised religious obscurantism and the growth of Muslim fundamentalism in Syria. He had been summoned several times by the intelligence services because of his writing. His editorials constitute rallying calls for democracy and free expression and several of his works have been censored in Syria and other Arab countries.
Nasra, also a journalist and writer, contributes to the Syrian news website “Levant News” (http://www.thisissyria.net). Like Fayad, he is also a founder of “Liberal Syria”.
Hamid, a 29 year-old journalism student and member of Syria’s Kurdish minority, was imprisoned on 24 July 2003, a month after taking photographs of a peaceful Kurdish demonstration in Damascus. He is officially accused of membership in an “illegal organisation”. In July 2004, his trial was adjourned until 10 October.
