The Syrian authorities have escalated their campaigns against the religious committed individuals in the suburbs of Homs; for on the fifth of this current month of June the Syrian Intelligence has arrested a number of citizens from varying areas, including:

1) A military intelligence patrol raided the department of sophisticated machinery in the Homs Petroleum Refinery, and arrested the youth “Ghassan al-Kurdi” in a humiliating manner in the presence of his colleagues. Ghassan al-Kurdi (1972), from Homs, is a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering institute. He resides in the Baba Amro suburb, and was arrested in 2008 for adopting Salafi thoughts. He is a married and has one child.

2) A military intelligence patrol raided the shop of “Muhanad Ghanoom” in the Baba Amro suburb. Muhanad Ghanoon was driven to an unknown place. Muhanad is the brother of “Jamal Ghanoom”, who has been detained in Sednaya Prison since 2007 for adopting salafi tendencies. Jamal Ghanoom was injured during the Sednaya Massacre in 2008 and was treated at al-Tal military hospital. Muhanad is married and is a father of two children.

3) The home of Sheikh Zeidan al-Talib in the village of Jawbar, west of Homs, was also raided by a military intelligence patrol. The sheikh was arrested and driven to an unknown location. Sheikh Zeidan al-Talib is the imam and preacher at the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque, and he holds a well established and influential position within the Homs suburbs. He is a graduate of Shariah in Damascus University.

The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) denounces these unjustified arrests, and calls upon the Syrian authorities to release the detainees immediately as well as to stop acting according to despotic measurements by detaining people on the background of their ideological and intellectual beliefs. If any of the above mentioned have committed an unlawful act then they should be transferred to court whilst enjoying their freedom and right to self-defence.
The Syrian Human Rights Committee
14/6/2010