CAIRO: A coalition of 170 Egyptian, Arab, and international human rights activists called on the Syrian government to immediately release blogger and activist Razan Ghazzawi, along with all other prisoners of conscience detained in Syria. “The Syrian government's attempts to curtail the freedoms and muzzle the mouths of those like Razan who defend their rights is the biggest evidence of the fragility of the regime and its failure,” stated Ramy Raoof, an Egyptian blogger and human rights activist, in a press release on the “Free Razan” Facebook page this Tuesday. Ghazzawi, a noted critic of Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime, was arrested at the Syrian-Jordanian border while on her way to a conference in Amman. The Syrian blogger is known for publishing work under her actual name, rather than using a pseudonym, and has gained the respect of her peers for staying in Syria as an expression of solidarity, despite her dual Syrian-American citizenship. According to the press release, Ghazzawi's family and friends are deeply concerned for her safety due to the Syrian regime's atrocious inclination to abuse and torture, especially within its prison system. The United Nations estimates that over 4,000 Syrians have been killed during the government crackdown on anti-government protests that broke out across Syria in March. Countless protesters, activists, and dissidents have been arrested and tortured by the al-Assad regime. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/4a7XU Tags: featured, Razan Ghazzawi Section: Human Rights, Latest News, Syria
