Activist arrested, say rights groups

Two local human rights groups claimed on Sunday that Syrian authorities had detained a human rights activist for unknown reasons and called for his immediate release. The Committees for Defending Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria said in a statement that Abdullah Halak, a university student from Hama province in northern Syria, had been arrested in his house and had been taken to an unknown location. The group strongly condemned the "arbitrary" arrest, saying: "It poses a new escalation… and [is] an organised violation of basic freedom.” Urging his immediate release, along with those of all political prisoners and prisoners of opinion, the group called on human rights organisations to pressure Damascus to halt its practice of arresting activists. In a separate statement, the Syrian Organisation for Human rights said that Halak was believed to have been arrested for his activities in the field of human rights, saying that his release "would be considered a prelude for the hoped-for reforms in Syria”. Since taking office in July 2000, President Bashar al-Assad has released hundreds of political prisoners, but has simultaneously clamped down on pro-democracy activists, say rights groups.