Syrian Poet Sentenced to 4 Years for Publishing Article on Lebanon War

 
A human rights group said that Syria”s State Security Court has sentenced a Syrian poet and writer to four years in jail on charges of releasing information aimed at undermining the nation.

 

The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, or NOHR, said in a statement that the verdict was issued against Firas Saad for “disseminating false information that could weaken the nation”s morale.”

 

The NOHR maintains that the verdict is related to Saad”s articles published in Arab newspapers criticizing Syria”s stance on the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah and concerning aouther Michel Kilo.

 

Other articles by him criticized Syrian foreign policy.

 

Prominent Syrian opposition activist Kilo was sentenced to three years behind bars in May 2007, after he signed a declaration calling for radical reform in the strained ties between Syria and neighboring Lebanon.

The NOHRS said it was “shocked by the harshness of the verdict against Saad” and urged the authorities to release him.

Saad, who was arrested in November 2006, had told the court that his writings expressed “the opinion of a large number of Syrian people.”

The verdict was handed down by a court established under emergency laws imposed more than 45 years ago.

Syria has detained more than a dozen dissidents in recent months in a mounting crackdown that has drawn strong criticism from the West.