Syria: Wives of Islamist Suspects Detained, Whereabouts Unknown
Human Rights Watch, Tuesday, August 19, 2008      
The American-based group Human Rights Watch has called emphatically for the release of three women jailed in Syria since July 31, 2008. The women live in a village called al-Qtayba some 20 km east of Damascus. They are all the wives of men currently detained on charges of belonging to Islamist groups that were planning violent acts. So far, the authorities have not said why the women were detained, whether or not they intend to bring any charges against them, or where they are being held. The women who have been arrested are: Yusra al-Husayn, wife of Jihad Diab, a detainee at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay; Bayan, wife of Ahmad Saleh 'Ali, arrested in June, 2005 by Syrian authorities; and Raw'a al-Kilani, wife of Ziad al-Kilani, who was detained by Syrian Air Force Intelligence in April 2004.  >>


  Dilemma of the Lebanese detainees in Syrian jails
American Chronicle, Tuesday, August 19, 2008      
Human rights activist Elias Bejjani has expressed revulsion that Syrian jails are still crowded with Lebanese detainees from the Second Lebanese Civil War (1976-1990). According to Bejjanni, it is estimate that 700-1000 Lebanese currently languish in Syrian prisons. The United Nations and other organizations have called continuously for their release. “Unfortunately their calls have fallen on deaf ears, complete disregard for laws, disrespect for human dignity, and stony-like consciousness.” Even worse, the conditions of Syria’s prisons are far from humane: “The rooms are dark with no sunlight. No proper sanitation facilities; detainees have to relieve themselves inside the room. Very poor hygienic conditions, food is the left over crumbs and very few lucky detainees escape malnutrition, asthma, heart problems, cancer, tuberculoses and many other health threatening diseases.” With that in mind, Bejjani calls upon the international community to demand the release of all the Lebanese prisoners in Syria and a similar liberation for all persecuted Syrians.  >>


  Syria gags Al Nazaha news website
Menassat, Monday, August 18, 2008      
Menassat has reported the release of Abdallah Suleiman Ali some 13 days after his initial detention by Syrian authorities on July 30, 2008. Allegedly, Ali was imprisoned for "persisting in publishing legal and political articles criticizing the role of the government." A Menassat correspondent, Ali is also director of the Syrian news website Al Nazaha (later Al Nazaha News) which has been subject to government harassment ever since it was created in 2005. The trials of the website are as follows: In November, 2006, the company hosting the site pulled the plug on it after pressure from Damascus. On June 23, 2007, a hacker attack erased all of the site's content. In the same month, a fire caused destruction to Al Nazaha's offices in Tartous. In October, 2007, the site was officially blocked as a result of a Damascus court decision. Abdallah Ali then famously sued the Telecommunications Minister the following month to get the decision rescinded. The complaint was eventually withdrawn. In March, 2008, Al Nazaha made a successful comeback at a new address – alnazahanews.com. Nevertheless, Abdallah Ali has been repeatedly threatened in an attempt to force him to close down the new site. His latest arrest came as the result of articles that challenged the legality of Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Otari's government.  >>


  SYRIA: Damascus Declaration activist arrested
Menassat, Tuesday, August 12, 2008      
On Monday, August 11, Syrian security forces arrested yet another member of the Damascus Declaration opposition group. The man in question, Ghazi Omar Qaddour, 62, was detained in the northern city of Aleppo. Aside from his Damascus Declaration activities, Qaddour is also a member of the Syrian Council of Freedom and Human Rights. In a statement, freedom and human rights defense committees in Syria said they strongly condemn his recent arrest and that they hold the Syrian authorities fully responsible for of his health condition.   >>


  Economist Freed As Syria's Crackdown Goes On
Kansas City info Zine, Monday, August 11, 2008      
On August 7th, 2008, the Syrian government released opposition activist Aref Dalilah from prison after seven years of incarceration. An economics professor, Dalilah was arrested in 2001 during the so-called ‘Damascus Spring’ alongside ten other Syrian activists for writing numerous articles and participating in social activities critical of the ruling Assad regime. The last of the aforementioned ten to be released, Dalilah was held in solitary confinement during his imprisonment. In 2006, he suffered a stroke that seriously undermined his health and brought him close to death. In response to Dalilah’s release, the American-based group Human Rights Watch responded thusly: “Like dozens of other jailed Syrian activists, Aref Dalilah should never have been arrested in the first place. He's finally free, but far too many others languish in Syria's prisons just because they criticized the government."  >>


  Syria - Call for release of writer accused of "weakening national feeling"
CNW Telbec, Wednesday, August 06, 2008      
Reporters Without Borders has called on the Syrian government today to release jailed online journalist Habib Saleh. On May 6, 2008, Saleh was arrested in a market in the northwestern town of Tartous. He appeared in court in Damascus on August 4 accused of writing articles that "weakened national feeling" and "incited civil and religious warfare.” Only recently has Reporters Without Borders learned that the 61-year-old writer is still alive. A regular contributor to the website Elaph.com (www.elaph.com), Saleh has been arrested three times in the past seven years. He was given a three-year prison sentence in 2002 during the crackdown that followed the "Damascus Spring" but was freed in September 2004. He was again sentenced to three years on August 15, 2006 but was then released on September 12, 2007.  >>


  The National Salvation Front calls upon the Syrian army to take part in the pacific democratic chang
Free Syria, Tuesday, August 05, 2008      
The National Salvation Front has called upon the armed forces of Syria to rethink their allegiance to the Assad regime and to work progressively for peaceful democratic change in the Syrian state. In its statement, the Front alleged that “the (Syrian) regime … has transformed the armed forces from a national army to an army that would protect the ruling regime at the expenses of the population.” As a result of this, “the armed forces are today weakened,” their “officers and leaders are being deprived from any authority,” and “decision-making is monopolized by some circles close to the President and his ruling family.” At its conclusion, the Front statement expressed hope that the trust between the population and the army could be restored and that the latter institution could halt its role as protector of the tyrannous status quo.  >>


  Syria arrests man cleared of Madrid bombing
Khaleej Times Online, Saturday, August 02, 2008      
According to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria (NOHRS), a Syrian man cleared on appeal of involvement in the 2004 Madrid train bombings has been arrested after he was deported to Syria. The man in question, Basel Ghalyoun, was sentenced in October, 2007 to 12 years in prison for belonging to a terrorist organization. On July 17, 2008, however, this verdict was overturned on appeal and Ghalyoun was forcibly returned to Syria. There, on July 22, he was arrested by Syrian authorities and today remains in their custody. Ghalyoun is Syrian by birth and originally came from the city of Homs. The NOHRS has called upon the Syrian government to free Ghalyoun and to treat him with proper judicial decency.  >>


  Frustration grows for family of man jailed in Syria for 15 months
Globe and Mail, Wednesday, July 30, 2008      
The Canadian paper “The Globe and Mail” reported today on the situation of 41-year-old Bahaeddine Succarie. A Canadian of Lebanese descent, Succarie was arrested in Damascus in April, 2007 while visiting Syria from Lebanon. Family members say that Succarie joined a global Islamist political faction while he was living in Canada from the late 1980s until the early 1990s. He was arrested in Damascus amid a clampdown on the increasingly popular group, Hizb ut-Tahrir or the Liberation Party, which seeks Islamic rule but distances itself from violence. According to government sources, Canadian officials have been visiting Succarie during his confinement to make sure that he is not ill-treated by his captors. Nevertheless, Succarie’s family, knowing the Assad regime and its policies, fear for his safety.  >>


  Syria holds mass trial over call for democracy
AFP, Wednesday, July 30, 2008      
Twelve Syrian dissidents went on trial Wednesday (July 30th) for signing the 2005 Damascus Declaration calling for democracy in Syria. According to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria (NOHRS), the twelve detainees denied the allegations against them of “spreading false information which weakens the morale of the nation and national sentiment, joining a secret organization with the aim of modifying the nation's political and economic status, inciting racial and sectarian dissent, and harming the state." Among those being tried are Fidaa Horani, President of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration, writer Ali Abdallah, doctor Walid Bunni, writer and secretary of the National Council Akram Bunni, and former MP Riad Seif. The current trial of such dissidents is the largest collective prosecution of the Syrian opposition since the so-called Damascus Spring of 2001 momentarily lightened regime oppression. After its July 30th hearing, the court adjourned until August 26th.   >>