Al-Jazeera journalist arrested at Damascus
airport

Al Jazeera journalist, Dorothy Parvaz, who flew to Damascus
from Doha on 29 April 2011, has been arrested at Damascus airport after trying
to enter the country to report on the escalating events. She is currently being
detained by the Syrian authorities and sources confirm that she is being "well-treated".
Alkarama had sent an urgent appeal on 3 May 2011 to the UN Working Group on
Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance, in an effort to exert pressure on the
Syrian government for her release, however sources later confirmed on 4 May
2011 that Dorothy Parvaz was in Syrian custody.

Nearly 7000 people on Facebook have joined the group Free
Dorothy Parvaz – a campaign which will undoubtedly continue to grow as long as
she remains in detention.

Parvaz spent her teenage years in North Vancouver and attended
the University of British Columbia. She then studied journalism in Arizona and
later worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper before taking the job
with Al-Jazeera.

Worsening human rights situation

The human rights situation in Syria has seriously degraded
in recent weeks, as hundreds of protestors have been killed and thousands
arrested since demonstrations began in mid-March 2011. Sources from inside
Syria indicate that human rights defenders are being persecuted, while local
and international journalists have been arrested and are being held
incommunicado.

Khaled Sid Mohand, a French-Algerian journalist, who
recently travelled to Syria to report on events there, was arrested and
detained for 24 days, before being released yesterday.

The Assad regime continues to suppress the international
media in an attempt to cover up the growing number of human rights violations
committed by the Syrian authorities. Syrian citizens are calling for democratic
reforms in a country, which only last week lifted its longstanding 1963
Emergency Law – a law that previously imposed a ban on public gatherings.

Since protests began on 15 March 2011, media outlets have
been prevented from covering the gross human rights violations being committed
by the Syrian security forces. The world’s media has depended on email reports
from Syrian activists and amateur footage being leaked via Youtube. The images
have often been graphic and violent depictions of hysteria.

International condemnation

The Syrian government has subsequently come under heavy
condemnation from the international community, in recent weeks, over its
continued violent aggression against pro-democracy demonstrators.

On 29 April 2011, the UN Human Rights Council issued
resolution S-16/1 urging Syria "to immediately put an end to all human
rights violations, protect its population, and respect fully all human rights
and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of
assembly; further urges the authorities to allow access to the Internet and
telecommunications networks and to lift censorship on reporting, including by
allowing appropriate access by foreign journalists."

Alkarama will continue to closely monitor the human rights
situation in Syria, and provide any relevant updates to the UN human rights
bodies.