Syrians Arrest of Leading Democracy Activist Sparks Outcry

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, PRNewswire-USNewswire

Yesterday, a Syrian security patrol arrested Riad Seif, a former Member of Parliament and prominent leader of the Damascus Declaration, an umbrella opposition group supporting democratic reform. 

With Seif's detention, Syria now has arrested eleven leaders of the Damascus Declaration Council since the group's first meeting in December 2007. "This latest crackdown shows that the Assad Regime is intent on forcibly repressing the basic civil liberties of the Syrian people in a blatant attempt to prolong their corrupt rule," said Ammar Abdulhamid, President of the Tharwa Foundation (http://tharwacommunity.org), a Syrian advocacy organization. 

Seif's imprisonment follows recent outcries against the deteriorating human rights situation in Syria. It is no coincidence that the arrests come a week after a meeting of the Damascus Declaration. "The authorities are using Seif's deteriorating health to convey the message that they will crack down with impunity against all independent political activities in Syria, regardless of any costs incurred to the country's standing in the international community," said Abdulhamid. (Seif is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.) 

"Another line has been drawn in the crimson sands of our region. This is an attack on the basic rights of our people, specifically: their right to life and liberty," continued Abdulhamid. "The regime is presenting the Syrian people, and the world, with a simple yet stark choice, that reform is only possible when the regime is no more," said Abdulhamid. 

"The Assad regime is becoming increasingly defiant and taking steps to destroy Syrians' hope for a second Damascus Spring," said James Prince, president of the Democracy Council (http://www.democracycouncil.org), a nonprofit organization promoting human rights in emerging countries. "Assad continues to persecute his own people with impunity and support international terrorism despite international efforts to normalize relations," said Prince. 

Ammar Abdulhamid, president of Tharwa Foundation, is a leading opposition leader and human rights activist recently exiled from Syria. The Tharwa Foundation is an independent non-partisan institution that seeks to shed light on the concerns and aspirations of the various communal groups inhabiting the Muslim World, to improve ongoing efforts at modernization and democratization.