Syrian reporter Ali Taha was freed on February 7 after 36 days in detention, and cameraman Ali Ahmed a few days later, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. The two journalists, who work for the TV station Rotana, were arrested on January 2.
“The release of these two journalists is good news, but we condemn that the fact that they were held for a more than month without charge,” Paris-based RSF said. “Ali Taha has no political links and his reporting is just about social issues.”
Taha told RSF he was not mistreated while in detention but was not allowed to see a lawyer. He expressed his delight at being freed by quoting an Arab proverb: “He who has not endured chains does not know freedom.”
Taha and Ahmed were arrested in the Damascus suburb of Sayda Zainab on January 2. Taha has worked for years for the magazine Saidati as well as for Rotana TV.
