Journalist Muhannad Abdul Rahman disappears in Damascus

During the past week, the journalist Muhannad Abdul Rahman visited a number of Syrian provinces, including Aleppo, al-Hasaka, al-Suweida and Damascus, in which he carried out interviews with different personalities, ranging from literary, scientific and political celebrities.

On the afternoon of Thursday 7/9/2006, he had arrived to Damascus after his meeting with Mr. Fuad Aliko in al-Hasaka. Since then, nobody has heard of him or been able to contact him, whether through email or telephone. It was afterwards learnt that he had been arrested by the political intelligence of Rural Damascus Province and that all                                                                                                                                                                                                     recordings and papers found with him were confiscated. The said articles are put on the Democratic Meeting website, and other websites also put it thereafter onto their websites. The journalist Muhannad is a newly graduated journalist and does not belong to any political tendency.

The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) calls upon the Syrian authorities to immediately release the journalist Muhannad Abdul Rahman, to allow media freedoms, and to stop all arbitrary arrests.

Syrian Human Rights Committee
19/9/2006