The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) has strongly condemned the random arrest campaign against 22 members of the National Council of Damascus Declaration launched by the Syrian Intelligence authorities on the evening of Sunday (9/12/2007) and the early morning of Monday (10/12/2007). SHRC’s media spokesman commented that “the Syrian authorities permitted the National Council to convene, and then resumed their arrest campaign against its activists, which represents a recurred trick pursued by the authorities”. The spokesman questioned whether “the Syrian authorities aim to cast all members of the National Council in jail or to isolate a number to make an example of them as they had done with some signatories of Damascus-Beirut Declaration”. The spokesman regards the arrests as “the Syrian authorities’ gift to the Syrian people and the world on the Annual World Day of Human Rights”. “They want to set a practical proof of their practises and attitudes towards every citizen who want to achieve democracy, pluralism and human rights in Syria”.
The spokesman concluded his comment by demanding the immediate release of the detainees and to stop all sorts of repressive measurements against them and other citizens.

Background
The Syrian authorities arrested 22 members of the National Council of Damascus Declaration on the eve of Sunday (9/12/2007) and the early morning of Monday (10/12/2007). They are:
From Damascus: Fawaz Tillo (former Damascus spring detainee) 2001
From Aleppo: Ghazi Kaddoor, Piere Rustum, Usama AShour, Radif Mustafa
From Homs: Muwaffak Nairabiyah, Najati Tayyarah
From Lattakia: Kamel Abbas, Nasr Saeed
From Swayda: Ghaleb Amer
Frpm Dair Azzour: Ahmad Tomah, Fawzi Hamadeh, Fawaz al-Hayes, Abdul-Qahhar Saood.
From Dar’a: Ali Ibrahim al-Jahmani, Yussof Owaid, Mohamad al-Masalmeh
They have released four from al-Hasakah, they are Fuad Iliah, Abdul Kareem al-Dahhak, Ziyad al-Feel.

The Syrian Human Rights Committee
10/12/2007