Kilo faces life imprisonment for signing joint statement on relations with Lebanon

Reporters Without Borders reiterated its call for the release of journalist Michel Kilo today after learning that he faces the possibility of life imprisonment on charges of stirring up “religious and racial divisions,” publishing “mendacious and exaggerated reports with the aim of discrediting the government” and “defaming the president and the courts.” Kilo was arrested on 14 May after signing a joint statement by intellectuals from Syria and Lebanon called “Beirut-Damascus, Damascus-Beirut,” which advocates a change in relations between the two countries. The Syrian authorities branded it as a “provocation” and as “inference in domestic affairs” and said “the Syrian intellectuals are mistaken in blaming Syria for the deterioration in the situation in Lebanon.” Kilo has been an emblematic figure in the struggle for democracy in Syria for more than 30 years, and his arrest has set off a wave of protests in the Arab world, especially in Lebanon. In an open letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, former Lebanese prime minister Salim Hoss said: “We think that a president such as you, known for his culture, should not allow a citizen to be arrested for his opinions. We ask to intervene and to obtain the release of Mr. Kilo and all the other political prisoners.” The Syrian authorities yesterday carried out more arrests of people who signed the “Beirut-Damascus, Damascus-Beirut” statement. Those detained included lawyer Anouar Bounni and several other human rights activists. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.05.2006 Authorities arrest journalist and human rights activist Michel Kilo Reporters Without Borders today called for the immediately release of Michel Kilo, a Syrian journalist, human rights activist and political scientist, who was arrested yesterday in Damascus. His wife said he had not been seen since he got a phone call in the afternoon ordering him to report to a police station. “Censorship, harassment, threats and arbitrary arrests - the Syrian authorities seem to stop at nothing,” Reporters Without Borders said. “After Ali Abdallah's arrest on 23 March, it is now the turn of Kilo - an emblematic figure in Syria's struggle for democracy - to be targeted by the repression against journalists and human rights activists.” The press freedom organisation added: “We are all the more worried as we do not know what charges have been brought against him or where he is being held.” Ammar al-Qorabi of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria said he thought Kilo had been arrested for signing a petition by 274 leading intellectuals, journalists and artists from both Syria and Lebanon urging a radical reform of relations between the two countries. Called “Beirut-Damascus, Damascus-Beirut,” the joint statement condemns “any attempt to impose economic or other sanctions on the Syrian people” and advocates the need to “respect and consolidate the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon and of Syria as part of institutionalised and transparent relations that serve the interests of both peoples and reinforce them against Israeli aggression and US hegemony.” It also stresses “the need for definitive Syrian recognition of Lebanon's independence,” adding that “the first steps in this direction should consist of a demarcation of borders and an exchange of ambassadors.” An advocate of democratic reform in Syria, Kilo writes for the Lebanese dailies An-Nahar and Al-Safir, as well as Al Quds Al Arabi, an Arabic-language newspaper based in London. He also heads Hourriyat, a Damascus-based press freedom organisation launched last year. In addition to fellow journalist Ali Abdallah, three cyber-dissidents - Massoud Hamid, Habib Saleh and Mohammed Ghanem - are currently imprisoned in Syria. President Bashar El-Assad is on the Reporters Without Borders list of 38 press freedom predators.