18 Months In Jail For Syrian Activist

by Can Tran    December 31, 2007

Faiq al-Mir, the political activist was originally sentenced to three months but the court commuted half of it into eighteen months, according to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria (NOHR).

He is a member of the Syrian Democratic Party which is deemed to be outlaw. Faiq al-Mir was arrested December 2006 after he went to Lebanon to visit and give condolences to the family of assassinated Lebanese politician, George Hawi. George Hawi has been one of the critics of Syria’s role in Lebanon.

Mr. al-Mir is charged for insulting the regime, contacting “hostile parties,” spreading false information that can weaken nationalism, starting riots, showing hostility to state policy, and contacting anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians.

According to the NOHR, it is likely he will be released in a month. It also said that his verdict was outrageous and it infringed on individual freedoms.

This is not the first time he was in jail. For ten years, Faiq al-Mir was in jail as a political detainee between 1989 and 1999.

Since being Syria’s President in 2000, Bashar Assad released hundreds of political prisoners. However, he still cracks down on pro-democracy activists.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Rate It:

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5