Held incommunicado and tortured,
Syrian journalist Mazen Darwish could die
Mazen Darwish, the head of
the Damascus-based Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), and
15 of his colleagues were arrested by Air Force Intelligence officers during a
raid on the centre on 16 February.
According
to our sources, he has been badly tortured in detention. We have good reason to think his
life is in danger because he suffers from serious ailments and his condition
could worsen rapidly if he is not getting the treatment he needs. The Syrian
authorities refuse to say where he is being held. He is not being allowed
access to his family or lawyers, in complete violation of international law. So
far, no charges have been brought against him.
Darwish
is in grave danger. The authorities arrested him in order to silence him, because he was
telling the outside world about acts of violence by a regime that persists in
its deadly folly. A staunch defender of human rights and freedom of expression, Darwish played a key role in
providing daily information about the situation in Syria, at a time when almost
all foreign journalists are banned from visiting the country.
Without
the courage of Syrian journalists and bloggers, no freely reported news and
information would be available. You can help to change their destiny. Support our efforts to obtain the
release of Darwish and the hundreds of other journalists imprisoned throughout
the world.
Thank
you for your support,
Dominique
Gerbaud,
Reporters Without Borders President
We have helped to obtain the release of many journalists, including:
- Maikel Nabil Sanad (Egypt), released on 24 January 2012
- Jamal Osman Hamad (Sudan), released on 19 December 2011
- Hervé Ghesquière, Stéphane Taponier (France), released on 29 June 2011
- Eynulla Fatullayev (Azerbaijan), released on 26 May 2011
- Albert Santiago Du Bouchet (Cuba), released on 8 April 2011
- Abdolreza Tajik (Iran), released on 22 December 2010
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