Syrian journalist released
Syrian journalist Ibrahim Hmeidi has been released, five months after his detention on charges of reporting information about refugee camps.
Hmeidi, 34, said he was arrested for interrogation at the Adra prison near Damascus for five months. He refused to clarify the charges leveled against him and whether he was referred to the State Security Court as his lawyers said earlier. He also refrained from giving details about how he was treated under arrest and whether he was to resume his work as journalist.[...]
The Syrian authorities had said in an official statement that Hmeidi was arrested for “publishing unfounded news” and “violating the Public Law, especially Article 51.” The statement gave no further details. His arrest last December was believed linked to an article he published in al-Hayat saying that the Syrian authorities set up camps near the border with Iraq as a prelude to receive nearly 1 million refugees once the United States began its war on Iraq. – UPI, Syrian journalist freed.