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Syria frees 112 political prisoners
It was not immediately clear how many political prisoners were left in jail but estimates vary between none and hundreds, depending on the criteria of political prisoner, lawyers said. Several hundred of the Arab country's Kurdish minority were arrested during riots by Syrian Kurds in northern cities that erupted after a soccer match brawl in March. "There are people who are sentenced to jail terms on charges that might not be seen as political by the authorities but there are hundreds of prisoners yet to be released," lawyer and human rights activist Anwar al-Bunni told Reuters. Bunni said activists were trying to identify who had been released in the latest move. One source said the prisoners were from "all the colours of the political spectrum ... I am not certain but I think that there are no political prisoners left." Bunni said 160 others have been released so far this year. Hundreds of political prisoners have been released since President Bashar al-Assad came to power. He introduced a measure of political freedom, but critics say authorities later cracked down again on political activists.  Posted by: Steve White 2004-12-08 |
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