Reporters without Borders slams Syrian regime
Reporters without Borders, which defends freedom of the press internationally, criticized Syria in its 2008 annual report, noting that in spite of the growing number of media outlets in the country since the year 2000, “the expansion has not brought diversity, and the new outlets must still avoid a great number of taboo subjects.”
“Journalists have to tightly censor themselves for fear of being thrown into Adra Prison [in suburban Damascus], where most political prisoners, including dissident journalists, are held,” the report read.
It also noted that 67-year-old journalist and human rights activist Michel Kilo has been in prison since May 2006 after being sentenced for “weakening national sentiment.” Activists Mahmud Issa and Anwar al-Bunni, arrested at the same time as Kilo for urging an end to Syrian interference in Lebanon, were jailed for three and five years, respectively, on similar charges.
The report also said that seven members of the pro-democracy National Council for the Damascus Declaration were arrested in December, including freelance journalist Ali Abdullah. He was jailed for six months in 2006 for “criticizing the emergency laws” and is being held at the Adra Prison waiting to be told the new charges against him.
In addition to journalists, bloggers are also restricted, but to a lesser extent.
“Bloggers seemed less restricted in 2007, but filtering of online traffic significantly increased. Three cyber dissidents who were jailed since 2006 were freed in 2007, but at the start of 2008, access to about 100 websites was still blocked, including the popular Hotmail, Facebook and YouTube, along with many human rights websites,” according to the report.
“The regime uses a filter called Thundercache to spy on Web traffic, eliminate viruses and prevent video pirating. Access is also blocked to Arab-language opposition sites and to material about Syria’s Kurdish minority,” it added.