Human Rights Watch recently released this article about the detention of Syrian writers and activists who express critical opinions and work to disseminate information online:

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/10/08/syria17024.htm

The article discusses ways in which the Syrian government monitors its citizens: internet cafe owners are required to spy on their patrons, and many Syrian websites are required by the government to display accurate biographical and contact information for every poster, to combat the "anonymous" posting practice which had allowed many Syrians to make critical comments with some impunity. Further, a number of websites - particularly news sites that feature information understood to be critical of the government - are blocked entirely.

It is important for us here in the New Tactics community to reflect how the sharing of information online - a capability we often take for granted, and one on which we are premising our community-based website - is in fact a human rights battleground. It may seem abstract, but to Karim 'Arbaji and Tarek Biasi, both still detained as I write this, the issues are much more immediate. This sort of repression is particularly frightening in the context a Syria, whose government has an unfortunate reputation for "disappearing" political prisoners - detaining them in secret prisons without informing their relatives.

I found this news particularly eerie, as I am applying for a scholarship to study in Syria next year. Two contacts of mine in Syria, professors, were going to write me a letter of welcome and reference in order to express their support for my project but at the last moment had to pull out because of the atmosphere of fear around the movement of information - particularly a signed letter going abroad, to America no less. The recent Israeli incursions into Syria have been no help, adding to tensions and increasing controls and restrictions on Syrian citizens.

For those who read Arabic, http://www.akhawia.net/ is a popular site for Syrian youth, dealing with social and political issues - but be careful - it was Karim 'Arbaji's moderation of akhawia that got him arrested. Thankfully I don't know enough Arabic to get myself into trouble.