Free Tariq

 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): 
1- Dwindling the national feeling.
2-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.  
Since Tariq’s family and their lawyer were reluctant to comment on the State’s verdict, we wish that the human rights’ NGOs uncover details about this news.  
Meanwhile, we put in your hands the following report published on 23-2-2008 by Sawasiya which briefly talks about Tariq’s case:  

Syrian Human Rights Organization (Sawasiya): 
On 18-2-2008 the Supreme State Security Court had interrogated Tariq Biasi (1984) who was arrested on 7-7-2007 after charging him with “dwindling the national feeling” and “weakening the national ethos” based on Articles 286-285.  

Tariq who was arrested because of a comment left on websites considered “suspicious” by the Syrian government, denied leaving the comment and stated that he saw it only after his arrest. He also asserted that the land line, through which the website was accessed, is not his but for a doctor (there are seven branches for this line and while all of them are used, one of them is used for an internet café). 
Tariq explained that he works in computer business and he has nothing to do with politics or anything of the like. His trial was adjourned till 17-3-2008 for the Attorney General to state its demands.  
Damascus 23-2-2008 

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

Reposted from The Newbabylon Times

Tariq Baiasi, was surfing the internet one day, and happened to leave a comment on a public forum, criticizing the notorious security apparatus. Not long after that, on July 7th, 2007, he was arrested in his hometown of Banyas, never to be heard of again. As of today, Tariq has been in jail, without trial, for more than six months.

 Reposted from Mytech

Dopo 60 giorni di reclusione, parte una settimana di mobilitazione per la liberazione di Fouad Al-Farhan, blogger saudita arrestato e poi recluso in una località sconosciuta.

Qui tutte le istruzioni dell’iniziativa di pressione sul governo saudita (tra cui anche una petizione).

Intanto, via Global Voices, sono venuto a conoscenza di un’altra campagna di mobilitazione per la liberazione di Tariq Baiasi, blogger siriano che è stato arrestato lo scorso luglio per aver lasciato un commento critico su un forum nei confronti degli apparati di sicurezza.

Anche in questo caso è stato lanciato un blog di supporto alla campagna, dove è possibile firmare una petizione.

Certo, non è detto simili azioni di pressione sui governi saudita e siriano portino a risultati concreti. Ma è sempre importante tenere alta l’attenzione su queste vicende. Se non altro, per evitare che vengano attuate nell’indifferenza di tutti.

Reposted from Global Viking

Tariq Baiasi, was surfing the internet one day, and happened to leave a comment on a public forum, criticizing the notorious security apparatus. Not long after that, on July 7th, 2007, he was arrested in his hometown of Banyas, never to be heard of again. As of today, Tariq has been in jail, without trial, for more than six months.

From Global Voices.

In Syria a lot of bloggers campaing for Tariq. Here is the campaign site. Sign the petition here.

Freedom of speech must be reached all around the world, in every nation. Sometimes I feel bad about the truth that in my country most blogs just deal with issues about which clothes to wear to what. I should not say that, but I wished we used blogging as a tool for freedom around the world.

Reposted from Blogger for Freedom

Tariq Baiasi¹, a Syrian blogger, has been in prison for more than half a year now. He has not been taken to court, no trial was held against him. Far too long, some of his fellow bloggers think - and have started the Free Tariq Campaign² to help him.

Tariq had to wait a long time till his case even got attention. It’s been more than seven months now that the young computer seller, a quiet 23 years old from the city of Banyas, was kidnapped by the Syrian police. His father had spent 20 years behind bars because security agents who mistook him for a Muslim Brotherhood member - Tariq was arrested for a simple comment on the internet. A comment left on a public forum, criticizing the Syrian security forces, caused the bloggers detention on July 7 last year. And since then, nobody has heard of him.

But unlike other arrests of bloggers - i.e. Kareem Amer³ or Fouad Al-Farhan⁴ - his detention did not cause an international outcry. Tariq did not have the luck to have highly committed friends, he was no leading blogger. And silence came over his case. It lasted for months, till a single Syrian blogger started to post articles on Tariq again⁵. And soon, only a month later, five bloggers founded the group “Free Tariq”⁶.

It’s another one in the long list of groups supporting arrested bloggers. I’ve cited the two most famous Mideastern campaigns, our list of arrested bloggers⁷ includes some more. One could argue, that all these campaigns, actions, rallies have not freed a single blogger. Kareem, Fouad are still in prison, Hu Jia has just been arrested after two years of house arrest - and Tariq will not get out of prison because of half a dozen concerned bloggers. But the initiators of Free Tariq know these questions. They have interviewed Syrian human rights activist Razan Zeituna about the importance of their campaign⁸:

Free Tariq: Are these campaigns important? If so, in what sense?

Razan Zeituna: These campaigns are very important, mostly for unleashing the freedom of speech causes from the dual relationship between the regime and human rights organizations, to make it a public affair that would interest wider circles of people and groups. And while these campaigns lobby for and defend people whose basic rights and freedoms are abused, they also raise awareness on the cause for free speech.
Furthermore, it has been a long time in the Arab region since human rights abuses been taken place without effectual attention from media and human rights agencies. This is changing now; these kinds of campaigns and as they put symbolic pressure on the government, it gives the individuals whose rights are invaded, part of what they deserve, and treat them as people with names and dreams…these kinds of campaigns personify and humanize the abstract causes and transfer them from generalizations frames into personal frames.

Freedom is nothing one can get over night. It’s a process - and human rights campaigns, especially if they focus on freedom of speech, are part of this process. Groups like Free Tariq may not free the blogger they focus on, but after all they attract attention on the importance of freedom of speech and create a public consciousness for human rights. As long as people don’t even know about their freedoms, they cannot demand for them. Activists such as the initiators of Free Tariq create the possibility for people to get informed about human rights, enable them to fight for their own freedom and the freedom of others.

Links:

1. Blogger for Freedom » Arrested bloggers: Tariq Baiasi [↩]
2. Free Tariq [↩]
3. Free Kareem [↩]
4. Free Fouad [↩]
5. Global Voices Advocacy » Syrian bloggers campaign to free fellow blogger Tariq Biasi [↩]
6. Free Tariq [↩]
7. Blogger for Freedom » Arrested Bloggers [↩]
8. Free Tariq » Syrian bloggers campaign to free fellow blogger Tariq Biasi [↩]

Reposted from In partibus infidelium

Imaginaos cómo se las gastan las dictaduras árabes con los blogueros locales. Os presento el caso de Tariq Baiasi, bloguero sirio. Es espeluznante:

“Tariq estaba un día navegando por Internet y se le ocurrió dejar un comentario en un foro público criticando a las fuerzas de seguridad sirias. Al poco tiempo fue arrestado en su ciudad natal (Banyas) y no se ha vuelto a saber nada de él. Lleva en la cárcel, sin ser juzgado, más de seis meses”.

Más información en Free Tariq.

Reposted from Gloval Voices Online

Syrian blogs are abuzz at the moment with another crack down on freedom of speech by the Syrian regime. Except, this time it’s one of our own. Tariq’s case took around six months to catch the attention of bloggers - six months he’s still languishing in jail.

Tariq Baiasi, was surfing the internet one day, and happened to leave a comment on a public forum, criticizing the notorious security apparatus. Not long after that, on July 7th, 2007, he was arrested in his hometown of Banyas, never to be heard of again. As of today, Tariq has been in jail, without trial, for more than six months.

Razan, and a group of active bloggers, have set up a campaign website and an online petition. Please take a minute to sign the petition here. Razan has an extensive post about the issue on her blog, including an interview with activist Razan Zeitouneh:

Tariq’s online speech does not constitute a violation of the law. In fact, he actually acted on the basis of freedom, which as stated earlier, is guaranteed by the Constitution via Article 38, which states: “Every citizen has the right to express his opinion freely and openly, orally and written and in all other means of expression. He also has the right to contribute in the control process and in the constructive criticism to ensure the safety of national reconstruction.”

In her post, Razan mentions another blogger detained and forgotten in jail, Tariq Gorani.

Tariq Gorani was detained on 19-2-2006 for a year and four months before being charged with a seven years sentence verdict on 17-6-2007 for “endangering Syria’s security”. His blog’s name was Aldomari. “Aldomari” is originally taken from the first and the last independent Syrian newspaper that addressed and investigated the corruption of the Syrian authorities for a few months before it was shut down by the regime.

Other bloggers have been republishing the campaign links, and showing their support. Abu Kareem of Levantine Dreamhouse vents out his anger:

The Syrian regime’s chokehold on its citizens’ right to express themselves is unrelenting. Whether our expressions of outrage on the web really matter is highly debatable. The government knows that organized internal opposition, if present, is impotent. In addition, Syrian opposition outside is missing in action. They could care less about Western condemnations of their human rights records because they know that Western powers seem to care about the average Syrian only when it is politically expedient. The regime knows what buttons to push to get the pressure off their backs; it is a game that the Baathist regime has perfected over a span of two generations.

Annie has written about it here, and Yazan, here.

Ahmed, also said:

لأن الستة أشهر التي قضاها طارق في السجن تكفي ليصبح مهذباً ، قصير اللسان ، لا يحشر أنفه فيما لا يعنيه ! لأن هذا الاعتقال خوّفنا و أرهبنا - كمدونين و رواد انترنت - فلن نقتفي اثره ، و سنقصر ألسنتنا ، و نكف عن الثرثرة في المحرمات. و لأنّه فعلاً .. الستة أشهر .. كافية !

Because the six months that Tariq has spent in jail are enough to make him “polite”, with a “shorter tongue”, and “not poke his nose in everything”. Because this arrest has frightened and terrorized us, -as bloggers, and Internet users-, we will not go after him, we will “shorten our tongues”, and stop gossiping about taboo issues. And because… six months, are truly, ENOUGH!

Reposted from Egyptian Chronicles
If there is Fouad in Saudi Arabia ,there is Tarek in Syria , both are young bloggers who are detained , the only difference is that Fouad was arrested in December 2007 where as Tarek was arrested since July 2007 , yes since July 2007 till now February 2008.

Tarek Biassi was arrested in July 2007 in his home city “Tartus” for the following : criticizing the security forces ,in a comment in the forum “I am a Muslim“,visiting online the opposition Websites and his father Dr. Omar Biassi is currently detained too for 20 years till now whom he did not see since 20 years ago !!

He was arrested by the military intelligence officers “ I am sorry in my country ,which has its own record for hunting down the opponents , the Military intelligence does its real role , does not hunt down the civilians , this is the role of the State Security ,even in the time of President Nasser , the M.I was away from the civilian life” and being held till now in the “Palestine” Branch’s detention center at Damascus, till now with no trial or charge , well he is not the first one in Syria to be in the same situation, it is a regular thing I am afraid

For those who don’t know the Palestine Branch is the one of the most fearful notorious security branches not only in Syria but in the Arab world, it follows the people whom the regime believes they are danger on its security , not the country’s real security , “Palestine” Branch , those bastards chose the name of Palestine to make the people like it or believe it is a patriot institution,they thought that people are dump , but they are not they hate Palestine the branch of security but love Palestine the nation !!!

Here is Tarek’s original Blog at Maktoob ,it is in Arabic , the blog is mostly religious , but there are other topics including direct criticism to the police and the security forces.

It is sad and disgusting ,seriously Tarek is born in the same year like me in 1984 , he owned computer shop in Tartus , he was looking after his mother whom I feel more sad about ,Tarek was her only child , Tarek by the way is suffering from some hepatitis disease

Here are couple of Websites and groups made by the Syrian activists supporting Tarek , whom I believe is less luckier than Fouad El-Farahan and infamous Karim Abdel Karim , and that’s why we should all speak in our blogs internationally about him :

• Free Tarek in Arabic
• Free Tarek in English
• Petition “I highly doubt that it would be useful still I will post it”
• Face book group

I do not know I feel pessimistic whether about Tarek or his father , especially about his father , I wish they will return both safe , it is strange the father and the son being arrested , seriously I feel so angry for that lady who raised a young man all by herself then found this young man taken away in front of her eyes and she can’t do anything , God be with her.

Reposted from Abu Kareem

Tariq Biasi is a blogger who had the misfortune of leaving a comment on a public website that the authorities deemed too critical of the government. He lost his freedom as a consequence. He is not the first and unfortunately will not be the last to lose his freedom for peacefully expressing their opinion.

• Here is Ayman Haykal’s post on the topic (in Arabic)
• And here is Golaniya’s extensive post on Tariq and other prisoners in English.

The Syrian regime’s chokehold on its citizens’ right to express themselves is unrelenting. Whether our expressions of outrage on the web really matter is highly debatable. The government knows that organized internal opposition, if present, is impotent. In addition, Syrian opposition outside is missing in action. They could care less about Western condemnations of their human rights records because they know that Western powers seem to care about the average Syrian only when it is politically expedient. The regime knows what buttons to push to get the pressure off their backs; it is a game that the Baathist regime has perfected over a span of two generations.

I despair…Real political reform in nowhere on the horizon.

Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders condemns the arbitrary detention of Syrian blogger Tariq Omar Biasi, 22, who has been held the Palestine branch in Damascus since 7 July 2007 because of a blog entry regarded as overly critical by the government.

“Detaining someone because of a comment they posted online is outrageous,” the press freedom organisation said. “The Syrian government has been cracking down harder on Internet users and journalists. We call on the authorities to explain why they are holding Biasi.”

Those close to Biasi say he was arrested because of a comment he wrote on a website. Five bloggers launched a campaign calling for his release (http://freetariq.org/en/) last month.

The Internet is closely watched in Syria. Communications and technology minister Amr Salem decreed on 25 July 2007 that all website owners must provide the authorities with data about the authors of online posts (name, email address and title of the article or comment) or risk having their Internet access restricted or cut.

The Arab Republic of Syria’s constitution nonetheless guarantees “the right to freely express one’s opinions by word, in writing or by any other medium.”

Syria’s two most important ISPs, Syria Telecommunication Establishment (STE) and Aloola, are owned by the state. Last December, Reporters Without Borders established that access to at least 100 websites was blocked. Currently, 110 sites are still inaccessible.

Call for Biasi”s release and sign the petition

Download the list of blocked websites in december 2007 and january 2008.

Reposted from The Skeptic Syrian blogger Tariq Biassi, 22, is still detained, apparently without charge or trial, in Damascus’ notorious Palestine Branch detention center. Syrian Military Intelligence officers arrested him from Tartous on June 30 after he insulted the security services in a blog post.

Tariq’s blog is here. More information, including banners, petitions, and other campaign materials, is at the Free Tariq Web site (English and Arabic). There’s even a Facebook group.

reposted from My Stupid’s Corner

It is important, to sound out. Even if very few will hear.

It is important to try, just try, to challenge the hegemony of fear.

For what it’s worth, We Support Tariq.

[Tariq, is a fellow blogger, who was arrested for leaving a comment on a public forum, criticizing the Security Apparatus.]

More…
Free Tariq Campaign’s Main Website.
Sign the Free Tariq Petition.
Razan’s extensive coverage on the subject.

Republished from Decentering Damascus

It all started when one did: Ahmad published several entries concerning the detention of Tariq, the jailed Syrian blogger, but it is only when his blog was added on the SYPlanet aggregator that I had the chance to be aware of Tariq’s situation. I reacted by contacting all the bloggers who reported on Tariq’s detention and asked for their help in organizing a campaign to help secure Tariq’s release. And here we are; Ahmad purchased and designed the websites, Arwa and Omar contacted human rights organizations and news agencies, Okbah is following up Tariq’s news with a lawyer, Omar created a group on Facebook. I also contributed by updating the websites and creating an online petition demanding Tariq’s release.

As it stands, we’re just five. We are five Syrian bloggers writing from our censored Syria.

You can find our Free Tariq campaign by clicking here for an English version, and here for the Arabic.

Our Statement:

Our mission is supposedly guaranteed in the introduction of Syria’s Constitution: “The freedom of the country is only protected by free citizens.”

Article 28 in the constitution dictates that: “Every accused person is innocent until he is convicted by a final court judgment.”

Tariq’s online speech does not constitute a violation of the law. In fact, he actually acted on the basis of freedom, which as stated earlier, is guaranteed by the Constitution via Article 38, which states: “Every citizen has the right to express his opinion freely and openly, orally and written and in all other means of expression. He also has the right to contribute in the control process and in the constructive criticism to ensure the safety of national reconstruction.”

Feel free to read the full statement.

Please take a minute and consider signing our petition.

You can also help us spread the word by joining our group on Facebook.

If you wish to post a banner of solidarity on your blog or website, you may choose from a list of banners here. Insert the image URL within the code here and you’ll get a badge of the banner you’ve chosen. Please contact us for any questions, or if you have a banner of your own to contribute.

Why Support Us?

Some of the arguments made unfortunately undermine the effectiveness of the likes of this campaign, assuming that there is one goal, which is simply and strictly to literally “free” the imprisoned blogger or person. This campaign however goes way beyond such claims and aims to protect the very principles of freedom and human rights. To answer and refute some of these arguments, the Free Tariq Coalition has interviewed the Syrian human rights activist and lawyer Razan Zeituna and asked her a couple of questions regarding the validity of such campaigns:

Free Tariq: Are these campaigns important? If so, in what sense?

رزان زيتونة: ‫هذه الحملات مهمة جدا، أهم ما فيها أنها أخرجت قضايا حريات الرأي والتعبير من ثنائية العلاقة ما بين المنظمات الحقوقية والسلطة، لتجعل منها قضية رأي عام، تهم دوائر أوسع من الأفراد والجماعات‬
‫وهي إلى جانب الاهتمام ب والدفاع عن أفراد بعينهم تعرضوا لانتهاكات في حقوقهم وحرياتهم الأساسية، تنشر الوعي بقضية الحريات والانتهاكات‬.
‫هذا من جانب، من جانب آخر، مضى زمن طويل في منطقتنا العربية، حيث كانت مختلف الانتهاكات تمارس بحق الأفراد بدون أي اهتمام إعلامي وحقوقي فعلي، هذا الأمر بدأ يتغير الآن، هذه الحملات إلى جانب ما تمارسه من ضغط معنوي على السلطات الحاكمة، تعطي الأفراد المنتهكة حقوقهم جزءا مما يستحقونه، باعتبارهم أفراد لهم أسماء وأحلام …الخ، أي أنها تؤنسن هذه القضايا‬ ‫وتنقلها من إطار العموميات والمجرد إلى إطار الشخصي‬.

Razan Zeituna: These campaigns are very important, mostly for unleashing the freedom of speech causes from the dual relationship between the regime and human rights organizations, to make it a public affair that would interest wider circles of people and groups. And while these campaigns lobby for and defend people whose basic rights and freedoms are abused, they also raise awareness on the cause for free speech.
Furthermore, it has been a long time in the Arab region since human rights abuses been taken place without effectual attention from media and human rights agencies. This is changing now; these kinds of campaigns and as they put symbolic pressure on the government, it gives the individuals whose rights are invaded, part of what they deserve, and treat them as people with names and dreams…these kinds of campaigns personify and humanize the abstract causes and transfer them from generalizations frames into personal frames.

Free Tariq: What about Tariq himself, how would this campaign be beneficial to him?

رزان زيتونة: هي حق له قبل أن تكون مفيدة له أم لا،‬ ‫في مثل أنظمتنا، الحكومات لا تكترث كثيرا بالضغوط من هذا النوع، هذا لا يعني أبدا أن لا تمارس مثل هذه الضغوط‬.

Razan Zeituna: It’s his right, before it can be beneficial to him or not. With governments like ours, these kinds of pressures don’t affect the regimes much; this is no reason why we should not practice these pressures in the first place.

And Esra’a Al Shafei, director of the Free Kareem campaign notes that the aim of activism is “to change,” and stresses on the movement of change:

Activists generally have a passion towards a set of issues that they feel need to be changed, and they are inspired enough to be part of the movement that changes these things, either partly or entirely (if they are part of a movement that is big and influential enough, but most activism today comes in very small doses.)

In other words, campaigns like this one might qualify as a form of “activism” (though I like to refer to it as “volunteerism”), help serve a major role in communities that suffer from decades of dictatorship like that of Syria. The Free Tariq Coalition can advocate and promote national ownership, and harnessing citizen participation within the process of the country’s development that has been exclusively up to the Syrian authorities and to Syrian opposition(s). Campaigning, volunteering, or being active is not only about raising awareness about Tariq’s case or about freedom of speech, but also about the necessity for all Syrian people and youth to contribute and to participate instead of comforting to the paralyzed community state the Syrian regime managed to build for decades by force.

Syrian Bloggers Under Threat

Tariq Biasi is not the only and the first Syrian blogger who is currently in prison, long before I have started this blog about a year ago, a Syrian blogger named Tariq Gorani was detained on 19-2-2006 for a year and four months before being charged with a seven years sentence verdict on 17-6-2007 for “endangering Syria’s security”. His blog’s name was Aldomari. “Aldomari” is originally taken from the first and the last independent Syrian newspaper that addressed and investigated the corruption of the Syrian authorities for a few months before it was shut down by the regime. (Aldomari was a revolutionary newspaper and though its price was five times the official newspapers’, its editions were always sold out.)

I could not read any post by the blogger Aldomari for the Syrian authorities have hacked his blog and deleted all his posts’ archive, all I know is that he blogs in Arabic and his posts were seethingly sarcastic. Aldomari blog was the first Syrian blog to be blocked by the Syrian authorities as reported by the Damascene blog.

Tariq Gorani (1985) was not detained only for his blogging activity, he was mainly detained and imprisoned along with his seven friends for establishing a “Democratic Syrian Youth Activity.” Because of their online organized activism, they faced harsh and serious verdicts with seven and five years sentences.

A campaign has been launched to support the young men can be found here.

‫‬

So basically whoever initiates to express and voice his/her opinions in an organized manner, they are detained and imprisoned for years. Which explains the decreasing amount of Syrian insiders who care about Syrian public affairs.

Tariq Biasi is detained for an online comment criticizing the government, but Tariq Gorani was detained and faced serious charges and is spending seven years in prison not for expressing his views as much as for expressing them within an establishment and an organized body. Hence Syrian insiders prefer to work independently, mostly anonymously and not in groups.

Another example of harassment by the authority towards Syrian bloggers is when the Syrian intelligence kidnapped Syrian bloggeress Rukana Hammour. She is very vocal about the authorities and judicial system’s corruption in Syria, and was thus threatened by the intelligence forces to withdraw her nomination to the Syrian parliament.

How You Can Help:

1. Write about Tariq or freedom of online speech on your site or blog.
2. Link to our campaign.
3. Email your friends about us and ask them to sign the petition.
4. Contact NGOs and media agencies in your circles.
5. Email us campaign-related feedbacks and suggestions.

Also published on Global Voices Advocacy and MidEastYouth.

Reposted from National Organization for Human Rights


The Syrian blogger Tarek Biassi is still kept in detention by the Syrian authorities who arrested him on 7/7/2007 after one of the security agencies in Tartus summoned him and hasn’t been released yet.

It is believed that the reason for his detention was surfing into some blocked opposition wesites, in addition to his blogging activism.

Mr.Tarek Biassi was born in 1984, his parents are Fatima and Omar, and used to live in Banias, Tartus which is on the Syrian coast. Tarek is the owner of a computer store in Banias.

He is the son of Dr. Omar Biassi, a previous political prisoner.

The National Organization For Human Rights in Syria expresses its concern about still arresting unfairly Mr. Biassi, and it considers this kind of behavior by the security agencies as a sign of stepping up pressure on the public activists in Syria, which is a violation of the basic freedoms guaranteed by the Syrian constitution .This is due to the state of emergency and martial law declared in this country. Besides, these measures contradict the Syrian obligations towards International Human Rights Declaration.

The NOHR calls for the immediate release of Tarek Biassi, and all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience by the Syrian authorities, and calls for ending the continuous arbitrary arrests.

National Organization for Human Rights 18-1-2008

From Committee to Protect Bloggers

According to Mideast Youth, blogger Tarek Baiasi, who was arrested on July 30 of last year in the city of Tartous, as part of a crackdown on online comments, has still not been heard of since his detention.

Baiasi was arrested “for a comment he left on one of the forums called ‘I am a Muslim’ in which he presented the advantages and the disadvantages of the Syrian security forces policies.” His house was searched and he was taken away. He never appeared in open court and is said to be held in “the Palestine Camp’s security branch” in Damascus. (Not sure what that means. Anyone?)

Tarek’s father was arrested in the 1970s, when Tarek was only a few months old, and sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed Islamic organization.

Baiasi runs the risk of being yet another detained blogger all but unknown outside of his country. Let’s spread the word about him.

We know about you. You haven’t been forgotten. You won’t be forgotten.

***

Update: Brian responds via Twitter, “there is a large refugee camp the ‘mochai’em yarmouk’ for palestinians in DAM, syrian govt also supports PFLP could be them holding him”.

Reposted from Decentering Damascus

Tarek was detained on 7-7-2007 for critiquing security forces in Syria. He has not been taken to court up to this moment.

His name is Tarek Baiasi and he’s 23 years old. He lives in Banyas with his mother and two sisters. His father was detained during the 80s by the Syrian security agents, who mistook him for a Muslim Brotherhood member, where he spent 20 years behind bars.

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

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 time his family heard from him.

I had previously mentioned Tarek on my blog when I posted about the kidnapping of the Syrian bloggeress Rukana Hammour by Syrian security agents, but had not heard anything new about him until yesterday when Syrian bloggers reported on the day which marked the completion of his six months of detention. The bloggers appealed to Syrian and international human rights agencies to highlight his case and the cases of others as well.

Syrian blogger Ahmad was the first to write about Tarek’s case:

اعتقل طارق بياسي بتاريخ 7-7-2007م.

- سبب اعتقاله تعليق له في منتدى أنا مسلم تعرّض فيه لإيجابيات وسلبيات أجهزة الأمن.

- بعد اعتقاله فُتّش منزله ، و صودرت حواسيبه.

- انتهى التحقيق معه لكونه اعترف بتعليقه مباشرة، لكن لحد الآن لم يُحال للمحكمة ، و لا يُعرف مصيره.

- طارق وحيد لأمه ، من مواليد 84 ، من مدينة بانياس الساحلية.

- اعتقل أبوه لمدة 20 عاماً من أيام الأحداث ، كان عُمْرُ طارقٍ حينها بضعة أشهر فقط

-Tarek Bayasi was detained on 7-7-2007 for a comment he left on one of the forums called “I am a Muslim” in which he presented the advantages and the disadvantages of the Syrian security forces policies.

-His house was searched and his computers were confiscated after his detention.

-Investigators were through with him ever since he confessed posting the comment, but until now he was not taken to court and no one knows his whereabouts.

-Tarek is his mother’s only son, born in 1984 in Banyas.

-His father was sentenced for 20 years during the 80s when Tarek was a few months old at the time.

Ahmad posted several posts earlier on Tarek’s detention in which we learn that the detained blogger was later on taken to Palestine Camp’s security branch in Damascus:

لتصفحه مواقع انترنت ، طارق مازال في معتقلا في فرع فلسطين بدمشق طارق عمر بياسي ، مواليد 84، يعمل في محله في بيع أجهزة الكمبيوتر و صيانتها الكائن في مدينة بانياس الساحلية. لم يكن الدكتور عمر منظما في جماعة الإخوان و لا أحسبه مقتنعا بأفكارهم حتى يومنا هذا عن تهمة طارق فهي تصفحه و مشاركته في مواقع “مشبوهة” و ينظر لها بعين الريبة من قبل الأمن ، و هذه المواقع على الأغلب هي موقع أنا مسلم و موقع آخر شبيه به

For surfing the Internet, Tarek is still being held in the Palestine Camp’s security branch in Damascus. Born in 1984, Tarek Omar Bayasi, sells and maintains PCs where he lives in the coastal town of Banyas. Dr Omar wasn’t a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and I don’t think he is convinced of their thought even today.

Another Syrian blogger, Jassas, blogs about Tarek’s case asking us to write to the Syrian human rights agencies and support Tarek. Marfa’ blog owner, too, adds his voice to Jassas’ appeal and asks us to shed some light on Tarek’s case by contacting human rights agencies.

Arwa wishes that all the bloggers would agree on a certain statement to publish on their blogs:

أتمنى من جميع المدونات أن تتفق على “خطاب نصي” يشارك فيه المدونون كخطوة عملية وجماعية من أجل طارق

I hope all the bloggers would agree on a text in which the bloggers would participate in publishing as a practical and collective step in support of Tarek.

And finally, the owner of Msabba’ el Karat Syrian blog writes on Tarek’s detention wondering why every time a Syrian citizen is detained for merely criticizing his nation’s flaws, asserting that it’s the people who eventually defend their nation:

هل من المعقول أن يسجن الإنسان كل هذه المدة من أجل كلمة تقال في حق الوطن ؟! عندما أنتقد الوطن والقائمين عليه ، هذا لا يعني أني لا أحبهم و لا أتمنى لهم الخير ، بل أنتقدهم لأني أريد أن يكون وطني مثالا يحتذى به في كل المجالات ، هؤلاء الشباب هم زهرة الأوطان ، هم الذين سيدافعون عن قضايا الأوطان ، و بهمتم العالية تبنى الأوطان ، فلماذا تنزع كرامة الشاب من أجل كلمة تقال ، إن كنا نعرف أن بعض كلمات ستودي بنا إلى السجن ، فسنوقف أقلامنا ، و نغلق أفواهنا ، و نقطع ألسنتنا ، و نجلس عبادا نساكا ننتظر رحمة الله و فرجه القريب

Is it possible to detain someone this long for having his say on his nation’s affairs? When I criticize my nation and its leaders, it doesn’t mean that I dislike them or wish them harm. I just do it to make my country better in all fields. Those youngsters are the nation’s blossoms; they’ll defend and protect the country, and with them we build it. So why are we stripping a man of his dignity for a word he said? If we knew that a few words would lead us to jail, we would stop writing, shut our mouths, cut our tongues and sit back as slaves waiting for God’s mercy.

At the end of his post, the blogger draws our attention to important statistics:

ملاحظة : هناك 40 ألف قضية في قصر العدل لم تتطرق لها المحكمة بعد ، هذا ما أشارت إليه النائب العام غادة مراد في حديثها للجزيرة ضمن برنامج رائدات

P.S. There are 40,000 pending cases in the Justice Courthouse that the judiciary has not dealt with up to now, as general prosecutor Ghada Murad said on Al-Jazeera.

Up to this moment, one Syrian human rights agency did report on Tarek’s detention at the very day of his detention on 7-7-2007. HRW 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.

The HRW report says Tarek was detained on June 30, but the Syrian human rights agency and his family and friends confirmed that Tarek was detained on the 7th. of July and not on June 30th. I am noting this issue for documentation purposes.

Tarek does not stand alone in these arrests policy over online comments, the HRW report lists seven names among those who’ve been detained for expressing their views online. This policy started in 2002 but it has been increasing recently and especially after the “Ministry of Telecommunications and Technology” circular; Sami Ben Gharbia wrote about the repression of internet in Syria and here he uncovers the circular’s instructions:

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.” The Ministry added that “the failure to do so would result in warning the website owner and rendering his website temporarily inaccessible. In case the violation is repeated, the website will become permanently inaccessible.

Here’s my response to this circular.

It is not a secret that the Syrian tyrant regime is tight on the Syrian people and tighter on those who try to break through, but as I mentioned earlier in my blog there is no space on the ground for the youth to express their views or to embody their interests except on the cyber world. So what made li Zein al-`Abideen Mej`an, Karim ‘Arbaji (29), Tarek Biasi (22) and many others turn to the Internet? Isn’t it the very absent tangible Syria? Among all of the people who live in Syria, the Syrian government is detaining those who actually care about the Syrian public affair, those who care about Syria; those who have opinions and express them online simply because they can’t express themselves elsewhere. So by detaining these people, the Syrian government is making one of its exquisite statements: “don’t even bother to think and have a say, we’ll just do it for you”.

So there is no tangible Syria, and soon enough there might be no virtual Syria as well, I wonder how can there be Syrians without Syria, or Syria without Syrians who care.

Censorship in Syria is not a joke and it’s shouldn’t be viewed as the “norm/typical/predictable policies” of the tyrannical Syrian government. We’re not talking about the imprisonment of political activists anymore, not even human rights activists, we’re talking about detaining people, just people like you and me, mostly students, whose mere accusation was having opinions, whether I agree with them or not, and mostly I don’t, is never the case, but the fact that someone who still cares and dares to express her/his views in Syria is not the norm, it’s a rare case, and the detention of these rare people is very serious.

For those who are interested in helping Tarek and his family please send me and email at: arab.spring[at]gmail[dot]com.

Also published on Global Voices Advocacy and on Mideast Youth.