Free Tariq

His name is Tariq Biassi and he's 23 years old. He lives in Banyas with his mother and two sisters. His father was was a previous political prisoner.

Tarek sells and maintains PCs. He is described by his friends as shy and quiet, spending his time surfing the web and blogging.

On 7-7-2007, Tarek was asked by the security branch in Banyas to answer a few questions concerning a comment he left on one of the "sensitive" websites. That was the last his family heard from him.

Human Rights Watch mentioned his name in its report on Syrian officials' continuous arrests of people over online comments:

On June 30, 2007, Military Intelligence in the coastal city of Tartous arrested Tarek Biasi, 22, because he “went online and insulted security services,” according to a person familiar with the case. Biasi remains in incommunicado detention, his whereabouts unknown.

Recently, the new-formed “Ministry of Telecommunications and Technology” issued a new circular asking the owners of the Syrian websites “to exercise accuracy and objectivity (…) and to post the name of the writer of an article and the one who comments on it in a clear and detailed manner.”

On Sunday 11th May 2008 the State Security Court in Damascus stated its verdict on the Syrian blogger Tariq Baiasi who was held in detention since July 2007. Tariq was detained for leaving a comment on websites disfavored by the Syrian government. Free Tariq Campaign condemned the State'
s verdict and asks for freedom to the Syrian blogger:

The State Security Court in Damascus has sentenced Tariq to three years after lessening it from six years to three years (originally, Tariq received three years for each of the following charges):

• Dwindling the national feeling
• Weakening the national ethos.

The militarily security arrested Tariq on 7-7-2007 for leaving a comment on websites considered “suspicious” by the Syrian government.

Syrian bloggers continue to call for freedom to fellow blogger Tariq Baiassi.

Syrian writer Habib Saleh was sentenced to three years in prison for criticizing the country's government in a series of articles published on the internet.

Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully expressing his political views, and has called for his immediate and unconditional release.

The charges against Habib Saleh were related to several articles on domestic political issues that he had written and published online. He had criticized policies of the Syrian government and expressed support for a prominent opposition figure, Riad al-Turk.

The 61-year-old was found guilty of weakening national sentiments (Article 285 of the Penal Code) and broadcasting false or exaggerated news which could affect the morale of the country (Article 286). The court dropped other charges against him.

On September 13, 2009, the Syrian State Security Supreme Court sentenced the young blogger Kareem Arbaji to three-years prison for publishing mendacious information liable to weaken the nation's morale, under article 286 of the Syrian penal code.

Kareem Arbaji has been detained for over two years, since June 7th, 2007, by military intelligence officers.

Human Rights Reports reveal that Arbaji has been tortured during the detention:

Kareem Arbaji was detained before being tried, he received a cruel and disproportionate sentence even if he was convicted. He was tortured during investigations and ill treated for more than two years in prison.

It is likely that Arbaji has been arrested, detained and then sentenced for opinions he expressed on the blocked Syrian forum, Akhawiya, which he used to administrate along with other members.

The forum members have created a page to honor and support their friend behind bars. A Facebook group too has been recently created in support of the jailed blogger.