(Globe and Mail-Canada) Paul Koring - The lifeless body of outspoken Kurdish cleric Sheik Machouk Alkhaznawi was returned to his family in Syria on Wednesday, three weeks after he went missing. Amnesty International and members of the Kurdish Democratic Party said he was killed by authorities, citing evidence of torture on the body. Days before his disappearance, Globe and Mail correspondent Paul Koring interviewed Alkhaznawi in Damascus for a story about Syria's newly emboldened political dissidents. "Either the regime will change, or the regime must go," he said in the interview. Engaging, passionate, inspiring, and funny, Alkhaznawi was every despot's worst nightmare. He was a champion of tolerance, respect between Arabs and Kurds, and the compatibility of democracy and Islam.
2005-06-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive