(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN welcomes the release of writer and journalist Mohammed Ghanem, who was freed in the early hours of 4 April 2004 after being held for 13 days. He was reportedly denied food during his entire detention, causing him digestive and health problems. He is now recovering at home with […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN welcomes the release of writer and journalist Mohammed Ghanem, who was freed in the early hours of 4 April 2004 after being held for 13 days. He was reportedly denied food during his entire detention, causing him digestive and health problems. He is now recovering at home with his family.
According to PEN?s information, Ghanem was arrested by the Syrian military intelligence on 22 March in Ar-Raqah as he returned home from the school where he works as a teacher. His detention is believed to have been connected with the publication of an article entitled, “They are murdering the Kurds”, in which he condemned the recent violent clashes between Kurds, Arab tribes and security forces in the Qamichli region of northeastern Syria. The authorities reportedly saw his article as inciting “disunity”.
Ghanem, born in 1955, has published two novels, “The Death of Silence” and “al-Amili”, and is a regular contributor to several Arabic newspapers, in particular “Al-Khaleej” and “Al-Bayane”. He is described as an “independent opposition figure”, and has been actively involved in campaigning for the rights of Kurds and Iraqis living in Syria.
