Cyber-dissident freed under presidential amnesty

Reporters Without Borders today hailed the release of academic and cyber-dissident Ali Sayed al-Shihabi yesterday after five months in detention. Arrested on 10 August for articles posted on a far-left website, he was freed under a presidential amnesty marking the Muslim Eid celebrations. “We hope this pardon will open the way for more releases, because we have not forgotten that two other cyber-dissidents and a journalist are still imprisoned in Syria,” the press freedom organisation said. “Shihabi was subjected to appalling prisons conditions and torture during interrogation sessions, which highlight the violence and lack of humanity of the Syrian authorities towards prisoners of conscience.” Prior to his arrest, 52-year-old Shihabi was interrogated several times by the security services about the articles he was posting on the Internet, especially on the far-left website www.rezgar.com, in which he said he wanted to create a new political party to be called “Syria for Everyone.” A collection of his online articles were published in 2005 as a book entitled “Where is Syria going?” It was widely sold in neighbouring Lebanon. Shihabi was previously imprisoned for a year in 1975, and against for nine years, from 1982 to 1991, for being a member of the banned Communist Party of Syria (PCA). The two cyber-dissidents still in prison are Habib Saleh and Muhened Abdulrahman. Saleh was arrested on 29 May 2005. Abdulrahman was arrested on 7 September 2006. Journalist and writer Michel Kilo has been detained since 14 May 2006.