Another Syrian blogger held

Guest post by veteran Middle East publisher F. Najia

Ahmad Abul-Khair

Syrian Military Security this week arrested another native blogger, Ahmad Abul-Khair, on his way back to Damascus from the coastal city of Banias. The Observatory of Syrian bloggers is now asking for his release.

Abul-Khair launched his Ahmadblogs on October 10, 2005. He is a co-founder of the popular Syrian blogs aggregator Almudawen, and an administrator at Ektob, a blogging platform.  Born in 1983, he says on his blog site that he specializes in Islamic media and is “of coastal origin and Damascene education and affinity.”

Abul-Khair's arrest came hardly a week after the sentencing of Syrian teenage blogger Tal al-Mallouhi to five years in prison on spying charges, presumably for the United States (see Jailed Syrian Teen Defines Terror, February 17).

"Happy Birthday, Tal"

While she was in custody five months before her sentencing, Abul-Khair published a poster wishing Mallouhi a “Happy Birthday.” He had earlier written several posts in support of another Syrian blogger, Tarek Omar Bayassi, who was released from jail in August 2010 after serving three years.

Syrian Security probably took offense from Abul-Khair's last post, dated January 17, hailing the uprising in Tunisia and hoping it would be copied elsewhere in the Arab world. Here is, in part, a liberal translation from Arabic of what he wrote in this post:

“Inspired by the revolution”

“Change is possible. That, in simple words, is the banner of the current phase -- the banner of what has now become globally known as the Jasmine Revolution.

“Although jasmine is Damascus’ exclusive hallmark… the Tunisian revolution’s circumstances mirror Damascus -- and much so.

“More than 20 long years of oppression, simmering resentment, frustration and oppression impelled that revolution [in Tunisia].

“… Change is possible, but by revolution!

“Revolution à la Tunisia is likely elsewhere for many reasons. Indeed, the oppression, frustration, injustice, repression and arbitrariness suffered by Tunisians are not greater than the oppression, injustice and arbitrariness afflicting other Arabs. The latter’s impetus and motivations [for change] are stronger.

“… Free Internet should enter the home of every student in our Arab countries. Ways and means to exploit [the World Wide Web] to bring about revival and change are paramount for all those who love and aspire for freedom…”

On September 1, 2010, Abul-Khair published a more sanguine but cryptic mini-post about his discharge from military service. In his words:

“Curtains fall on my military life… I was discharged today!”

“It’s a beautiful day.

“Thank God, I completed my compulsory and strict military service.

“I’m now a civilian.

“Why go into details?

“What benefit the thoughts of the military?

“I shall shut out my military memories. I shall erase what I registered in my mind.

“I was discharged and I look forward to life – eagerly and passionately.

“I was discharged. That’s it.”

Jailed Syrian teen defines terror

Tal al-Mallouhi

Guest post by veteran Middle East publisher F. Najia

A special Syrian security court this week jailed a teenaged blogger for five years on charges of spying for a foreign country, despite U.S. calls for her release.

Tal al-Mallouhi, born 4 January 1991, is a high school student and a Syrian blogger from Homs. She is considered the World's youngest Prisoner of Conscience. She was sentenced February 15 but has been under arrest since 2009.

Tal published her writings in three blogs. One is listed as Mudawenati, Arabic for "My Blog." Another is titled "Latters" -- probably a misspelling of Letters – and features a series of 35 messages. All are titled "Messages to Man in this World" and conclude with the footer: “I won’t bid you farewell because I’ll always be with you.” Tal's third blog is dubbed "Palestinian Villages."

The 12th of her 33 messages, dated 7 November 2008 and posted before she turned 18, tackles the controversial definition of terrorism. She hoped it would be read to world leaders at the United Nations "for them to know that terrorism in the world is not only the killing of innocent people through booby-trapped cars and trains and the obliteration of towers. Terrorism takes other shapes and colors that plague every human being on Earth. Tackling the consequential types of terrorism would help us eradicate terror by individuals and groups.”

Tal lists this set of 24 serious terrorist activities:

-- Absence of judicial independence

-- Deception of the public

-- Denial of freedom of expression and creative thought dissemination

-- Abuse of antiquities, sanctities and places of worship

-- Possession of nuclear arms and development of weapons of mass destruction

-- Collection of taxes from the public to wage fictitious wars

-- Manipulation of state policies by multinationals

-- Packing state institutions with crammers

-- Monopolization of key medication

-- Driving people to dread their future

-- Shunning agreements to protect the environment

-- Uprooting people from their habitat unjustifiably and for specific purposes

-- Failure of nations to apologize for wars they instigated

-- Blackmailing a nation for a specific historic event

-- Jailing people without trial and failing to apply the law on a ruler before applying it on a subject

-- Putting any world institution under a rich or powerful nation’s hegemony

-- Toleration and support of despotic rulers

-- Countenance of any poverty and famine anywhere in the world

-- Any state seeking to monopolize the right to progress, education and knowledge

-- Any state that dubs as terrorists people seeking to free their homeland or territories

-- Any state that attacks a religious faith or belief for political motives

-- Any state that tries to appropriate another’s territory

-- Any state that strives to control another’s riches

-- Any state that threatens to use force against another state before exhausting all peaceful means