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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Syria arrests prominent dissident | Syria arrests prominent dissident |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A prominent dissident and former MP, Riad Seif, has been arrested in Syria, local human rights groups say. | A prominent dissident and former MP, Riad Seif, has been arrested in Syria, local human rights groups say. |
| He was reportedly detained for attending a meeting of supporters of democratic reform in Syria. | He was reportedly detained for attending a meeting of supporters of democratic reform in Syria. |
| The arrest brings to 11 the number opposition activists detained since December, reports say. | The arrest brings to 11 the number opposition activists detained since December, reports say. |
| Syria does not usually comment on such arrests. Human rights groups say Syria holds hundreds of political prisoners, some without charge or trial. | |
| Mr Seif, who suffers from prostate cancer, had already been banned from leaving Syria for medical treatment, a restriction he criticised as a "slow death sentence". | Mr Seif, who suffers from prostate cancer, had already been banned from leaving Syria for medical treatment, a restriction he criticised as a "slow death sentence". |
| Symbol of reform | |
| Mr Seif heads the secretariat of the Damascus Declaration group, which was formed in 2005 and which last met in December to form a national council, bringing together 163 opposition members. | |
| The National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria said Mr Seif was taken into custody on Monday evening by the security authorities after a warrant was issued against him for participating in the meeting. | |
| A statement by the group described him as "one of the symbols of the Damascus Spring", the period of political dialogue after the death of strongman President Hafez al-Assad in 2000. | |
| His successor, his son Bashar, initially tolerated the discussion groups which came into being, but a tough clampdown began in 2001. | |
| Mr Seif has spent time in jail for criticising the younger President Assad's government. |