Syria Regime Breaks
Up Kurdish Protest Outside Court
DAMASCUS, Dec 17, 2007 (AFP) - Syrian security sources on Sunday used force to
break up a demonstration by dozens of Kurds outside the state security court in
Damascus, a human rights organisation said.
The demonstration had been called by three Kurdish parties banned in Syria "to
protest against a decision by the authorities to try five Kurds in the court,"
the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights said in a statement.
The protesters were beaten by baton-wielding police before being herded into
trucks and driven out of the capital, a Kurdish source told AFP, adding that
those arrested were later released.
Meanwhile, the security court sentenced four people to prison terms ranging from
four to 10 years by the security court, the rights organisation said.
Three of them were jailed for belonging to an illegal organisation and the
fourth was sentenced for spreading false information harmful to the state.
On Friday US President George W. Bush called on Syria to immediately free dozens
of opposition activists reportedly arrested during events marking International
Human Rights Day.
"All those detained should be released immediately," Bush said in a statement
days after human rights groups said Syria issued summonses and arrested dozens
of opposition activists.
