Alert! Release Tal al-Molohui!

8 September 2010:


The World Youth Movement for Democracy appeals for the release of young Syrian Blogger, Tal al-Molohui, who is only 19 years of age. Her mother said that security agents arrested Tal al-Molouhi in December and confiscated her computer and since then she “has not heard from her.”

The teenager’s blogs “included poems and articles supporting the Palestinian cause and criticizing the Partnership for the Mediterranean, a French diplomatic initiative bringing together Arab and European countries, as well as Israel.”

Her arrest was seen in the Arab blogosphere as “indiscriminate repression in Syria.”

Molouhi’s mother wrote to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stating that she had "knocked at every door in vain" to search for answers about her daughter and the reasons for her arrest.

In a letter released by the independent Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Molouhi’s mother also expressed that she cannot describe the “disaster that has befallen our family and what we're suffering” adding that her daughter is “young and does not understand anything about politics.” "One security branch promised me that my daughter would be set free before the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan. But Ramadan is almost over," she added.

Reuters reports “In the absence of print media not controlled by the government, the Internet has become the main outlet for the expression of independent views in Syria, where political opposition has been banned and emergency law in place since the Baath party took power in 1963.”

The World Youth Movement for Democracy values freedom of expression and denounces any form of suppression of such freedom.

The World Youth Movement for Democracy is a network that aims to support the development of sustainable democracy movements by empowering the next generation of democracy activists. The network raises awareness of the difficult environments preventing youth from actively participating in democracy. Thus, we are in solidarity with Tal al-Molouhi, an exceptional young person who uses her writing skills to express her ideas.

Let us call on the Syrian authorities to release Tal al-Molouhi immediately and unconditionally.
Please send appeals to:

Bashar al-Assad - President of Syria
Presidential Palace
al-Rashid Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 332 3410

Ahmed Yunis - Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Al-Nasr Street
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 666 2460

General Ali Habib Mahmoud - Minister of Defence
Ministry of Defence
Omayyad Square
Damascus
Syrian Arab Republic
Fax: +963 11 2119729

For more information see:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68073J20100901

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