|
Syria frees writer and Kurd militant
1.10.2006
|
|
|
|
DAMASCUS, October
1, -- Writer Mohammed Ghanem and young Kurd militant
Shevan Abdo were freed from prison Sunday after
serving their sentences, the National Organisation
for Human Rights in Syria said in a statement.
Ghanem, arrested in March, was sentenced to six
months by a military court in Raqqa for "offending
President Bashar al-Assad, undermining the image of
the state and incitement to sectarian dissent", said
the organisation's chief, lawyer and rights activist
Ammar al-Qorabi.
The writer had been accused of publishing articles
deemed critical of internal Syrian affairs.
Abdo was arrested in 2004 after clashes in the north
of the country and sentenced to two and a half years
by the state security court in Damascus for
"provoking sectarian dissent".
Five days of clashes in March 2004 pitting Kurds
against security forces and Arab tribal elements in
Qamishli and Aleppo resulted in 40 deaths, according
to Kurd sources. The authorities said 25 people were
killed.
On Friday another Syrian Kurd, Abdo Khallaf Wallo,
was freed by the authorities on the grounds of ill
health.
The 65-year-old activist and former leader of the
Democratic Union party had been detained because of
"his political activity in general and his role in
the events of March 2004", Qorabi said.
Yesterday AFP reported that the Kurdish political activist
arrested by Syrian security forces in June has been
released because of ill health, lawyer and rights
activist Ammar al-Qorabi said Friday.
"The authorities freed activist Abdo Khallaf Wallo,
65, after his health deteriorated," said Qorabi, who
heads the National Organisation for Human Rights in
Syria.
Qorabi told AFP the detention of the former leader
of the Democratic Union party was linked "to his
political activity in general and to his role in the
events of March 2004".
Opposition political parties are banned in Syria,
which is ruled by the Arab nationalist Baath regime
of President Bashar al-Assad.
In March 2004, several days of deadly clashes in the
town of Qamishli, northeast of Damascus, pitted
Kurds against the security forces and Arab
tribesmen.
The authorities said 25 people were killed, but
Kurdish sources put the death toll as high as 40.
Damascus views the expression of Kurdish language
and culture as a threat to national unity and Kurds
are frequently arrested for alleged separatism.
The Kurdish population in Syria is estimated at 1.5
million, about nine percent of the population.
Qorabi called for the Syrian authorities to
implement an amnesty for the events of March 2004,
saying that while Wallo's release was "a step in the
right direction", 46 suspects were still facing
trial for the unrest.
AFP
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 