(BBC) - Haitham Naal, 51, Syria's longest serving political prisoner, has been released after serving 27 years behind bars, a Syrian human rights group has said. Naal, who suffers from cancer, told the Lebanese daily An-Nahar he had been released because of his deteriorating health. Last year 10 Syrian dissidents were tried and imprisoned for undermining the constitution and defaming the state through their speeches, among them two parliamentary deputies. More than 1,000 dissidents are imprisoned in Syria.
2002-08-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive