The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) denounces the punitive measurements being taken by the Syrian authorities against Syrian citizens who exercise their rights of expression regarding their views of current affairs.

Among the latest of such measurements is the one encumbered against the author Mohammed Ghanem, who was banned from returning to his job as a teacher at the Ministry of Education following his recent release from jail.

It is known that the author Mohammed Ghanem was arrested for six months ago because he had expressed his opinion on the country’s current affairs. He was released on (30/9/2006), and on the following day (1/10/206) he returned to work at the directorate of Education at Alraqa, but to his astonishment, he found out that he had been suspended, even though he has been officially employed there for the last 30 years.

SHRC requests the Syrian authorities to respect the rights of the Syrian citizens, and to reinstate Mohammed Ghanem to his work, to stop any punitive measurements taken against anyone who expresses his views, and to allow the freedom of expression which is prohibited in Syria according to the illegal state of emergency.

Syrian Human Rights Committee
16/10/2006