A blogger detained before the start of protests against the Al Assad regime in 2011 is released

RSF calls for the deposed Syrian president to be “prosecuted for his crimes” against journalists

Dec. 10 (EUROPA PRESS) –

A Syrian blogger who was detained before the start of protests in March 2011 against the regime of now deposed Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has been released, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has reported.

Syrian Intelligence questioned Tal al Malluhi, who was 19 years old at the time, in 2009 about his activity on his blog, in which he discussed social issues and wrote poetry. The young woman, who spent nearly 15 years in prison, was arrested in December of that year even though her family denied that she had ties to political parties.

Al Malluhi, now 34, was sentenced in February 2011 to five years in prison for disclosing information to a foreign country. In October 2014, a Damascus court approved a request to exempt her from a quarter of her sentence, although the decision was not implemented.

RSF has also been able to confirm the release of Hanin Gebran, a Syria Media Monitor journalist detained since June 2024. Both have been free since Sunday following the offensive led by rebels and jihadists that has ended more than half a century of family rule of the Assads.

“With more than 180 journalists killed and executed by the regime and its allies since 2011, Bashar al Assad has made Syria one of the worst countries in the world for media professionals, according to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index. RSF,” recalled the head of the Middle East office, Jonathan Dagher, in a statement.

For this reason, he has urged that Al Assad be “prosecuted for his crimes.” On the day of the fall of the regime, the NGO has warned, there were 23 journalists imprisoned “in unknown places”, with no evidence that they are still alive.

RSF has also highlighted that Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS, Levant Liberation Organization) is accused of killing six informants between 2012 and 2019. Its leader, Ahmed Hussein al Shara, known as Abu Mohamed al Golani, “is responsible for the kidnapping of eight journalists”.

“We call on HTS to hold its members accountable and release all journalists still detained in the country, including those they have taken hostage. Syria’s future leaders, whoever they may be, must ensure the safety of journalists and allow there to be a free press,” he concluded.