Front Line is deeply concerned following the arrest of human rights defender Habib Salih on 9 May 2008. Habib Salih is a writer and pro-democracy campaigner. He is a founder of the Tartus branch of the National Dialogue Forum.

Further Information

Posted 13/05/2008 On 9 May 2008, Habib Salih was arrested at the market in Tartus in the northwest of Syria. No reason was given for his arrest but it was reportedly related to articles he wrote that were published on websites, among them Elaph (www.elaph.com), which is currently censored by the Syrian authorities.

Habib Salih has been arrested twice before and has spent a total of 27 months in prison because of his legitimate human rights activities. In 2002, he was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment and was released on 9 September 2004. On 15 August 2006 he was sentenced to another 3 years' imprisonment under article 286 of the criminal code for “publishing false news” after accusing the Syrian government of corruption, tyranny and a lack of respect for human rights. He was released on 12 September 2007.

Front Line sees this arrest as part of an ongoing trend of harassment against human rights defenders, including writers and bloggers, in Syria. On 25 July 2007 Syrian Telecommunications Minister Amr Salen reportedly ordered website owners to keep personal details of all writers publishing articles on their sites.

Front Line believes that the arrest of Habib Salih is related to his legitimate work in the defence of human rights, in particular his work to promote democracy and freedom of expression in Syria. Front Line is concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Habib Salih.