Open letter to President Assad about Michel Kilo's detention

Reporters Without Borders wrote today to President Bashar al-Assad calling for the immediate release of journalist and writer Michel Kilo, who today begins his eighth month in detention in Adra prison, near Damascus. Charged with inciting “religious and racial divisions,” publishing “mendacious and exaggerated reports with the aim of discrediting the government” and “defaming the president and the courts,” he could spend the rest of his life in prison. “While other intellectuals arrested for the same reason have been released on bail, Mr. Kilo was denied this possibility by the improper presentation of new accusations,” the letter said. “He should have been freed on 19 October after paying bail, but the Damascus public prosecutor brought additional charges against him that voided his release order and meant he had to remain in prison while awaiting trial.” The letter continued: “We believe there are no grounds for holding this journalist. To our knowledge, all he has done is exercise his right to free expression, a right guaranteed by several international treaties that have been ratified by Syria. Mr. President, we ask you to intervene to ensure not only that Mr. Kilo's rights are respected but also to guarantee the right to inform and be informed in your country.” The letter added: “In our annual classification of countries according to their respect for press freedom, Syria received a very low ranking again this year (153rd out of 168 countries). Government control of the media and maintenance of a state of emergency have for the past 43 years resulted in the arrests of many Syrian journalists and activists and their imprisonment in very harsh conditions.” A contributor to the Lebanese dailies An-Nahar and Al-Safir and the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi, Kilo is known for advocating democratic reforms in Syria. He also heads the Damascus-based Hourriyat centre for press freedom and free expression, founded last year. He was arrested on 14 May after signing a joint statement by intellectuals from Syria and Lebanon called “Beirut-Damascus, Damascus-Beirut,” which called for a change in the relations between the two countries. President Assad is on the Reporters Without Borders list of the world's 35 worst press freedom predators.