Arrests in Syria

Syrian authorities have detained a prominent writer and government opponent in a continuing crackdown on dissidents. The writer, Michel Kilo, had been involved in drawing up a petition calling for a halt to his country's interference in Lebanon, from where it withdrew its troops last year after a nearly 30-year presence.
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Human rights sources in Damascus linked Mr Kilo's detention to the petition that was signed by Syrian and Lebanese journalists, writers and intellectuals. Mr Kilo's family told news agencies that he was called in for questioning by the security services on Sunday around noon and that he had not returned 24 hours later. He has been questioned regularly in recent months but never for more than a few hours.

While his current detention may be linked to the petition, observers in Damascus pointed out that the government was cracking down on dissidents. This follows a perceived lull in the international interest in the UN inquiry into the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, in which senior Syrian security officials have been implicated.

"It is a message to the opposition not to get carried away," said Sami Moubayad, a Syrian political analyst. Mr Kilo and other critics were very vocal last year, when it seemed that the UN inquiry could seriously undermine the government, he said. Now the authorities were saying "we are still here, still strong", said Mr Moubayed.

See also this report:

Lebanese intellectuals and political groups called Wednesday for the release of a Syrian activist detained after signing a petition seeking reform of Syria's ties with Lebanon.

Leading Arab poet Adonis, the pen name of Syrian-Lebanese Ali Ahmed Said Esber, appealed to Syria to free Michel Kilo "not only in respect of human rights, but in respect of Syria."

"We thought that the Syrian regime has abandoned these practices and was not going to detain intellectuals anymore for their political opinion or their thought. Unfortunately, we are disappointed," Adonis said in a front-page plea in An-Nahar.

And also this and this:

Syrian police have arrested the country's most prominent human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, his family said.

A number of other people have been detained, in what rights groups are describing as the biggest crackdown for several years.