Reporters Without Borders urges release of writer and journalist Mohammed Ghanem

Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate and unconditional release of writer and journalist Mohammed Ghanem who, according to the news site www.elaph.com has reportedly been arrested by the Syrian authorities. "The Syrian government cannot continue to crackdown with impunity on those whose sole crime is to use their freedom to write or to think," said the international press freedom organisation. "At a time when Syria is suffering from troubles, both inside and outside the country, there is great temptation for the government and the Baath party to apply the old repressive methods to try to resolve the situation. This desperate attitude is in complete contradiction with the deeply-felt and legitimate aspirations of Syrian society." According to elaph.com, several sources have confirmed that the Syrian authorities arrested Ghanem following the publication of an article on recent violent clashes between Kurds, Arab tribes and security forces in the Qamichli region in the north-east of the country. The article was apparently seen by the authorities as "incitement to fitna" (disunity). Ghanem works regularly for several Arab newspapers, in particularly the Emirates-based dailies Al-Khaleej and Al-Bayane. Born in 1955 at Rikka, Ghanem is a writer often categorised as an "independent opposition figure", a rights activist for peoples in the region, particularly the Kurds and Iraqis who suffered repression under the former Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. A trained teacher, he is also the author of several novels.