Human rights activist released after brief detention

A human rights activist, arrested four days ago after attending political conferences in Washington and Paris, was released on Wednesday. In a telephone interview with IRIN, Ammar Qurabi, a member of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in Syria (AOHRS), told how he had been kept in solitary confinement but had been otherwise well treated. His interrogators, the activist explained, primarily wanted to know whether he had met Western officials while abroad. Qurabi says he met with exiled Syrian opposition figures during a recent trip to the United States and Canada at the end of January. He also attended a meeting of Syrian opposition figures in Paris on 9 March. He denied meeting any Western officials, however, pointing out that he had attended the talks mainly because “the opposition isn’t allowed to come to Syria, so they hold their conferences abroad”. Qurabi was arrested on 12 March upon his return to Syria and questioned by members of the intelligence services. Qurabi noted that he was currently banned from travelling abroad and that his file had been transferred to the state security court, pending trial. Nevertheless, he told IRIN: "I feel comfortable, and I’m not worried.” “This is a very good sign that I’m free while awaiting the trial,” he added, “although I’d prefer to be tried before a normal court and not a military one." Lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, a human rights activist and AOHRS member, welcomed Qurabi's release as "positive" and called for the government to release all political prisoners and guarantee basic freedoms. Aktham Naisse, chairman of the Committees for the Defence of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria, similarly praised the release, going on to urge Damascus to halt its use of security courts. Since coming to power in 2000, President Bashar al-Assad has freed more than 800 political prisoners and passed laws aimed at liberalising the state-driven economy. However, critics note that he has also clamped down on political activism, jailing pro-democracy advocates and cracking down on political opponents.