On August 26, the Military Police affiliated with the “National Army”, in collaboration with Turkish intelligence, arrested journalist Bakr Qasim along with his wife Nabihah Al-Taha, who is a member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement and its General Secretariat.

According to a recorded statement by colleague Nabihah Al-Taha, a joint patrol of the Military Police and Turkish intelligence intercepted their car after covering the opening event of the first Industrial and Commercial Exhibition in the city of Al-Bab. Nabihah Al-Taha was released after two hours of detention due to pressure from local residents and activists, while the fate of her husband, journalist Bakr Qasim, remains unknown till the time of writing this statement.

Very limited information leaked from some sources suggests that Qasim was transferred to the notorious “Hour Kalis” center, a detention facility known for cases of arrest, disappearance, and torture of dozens of Syrians over the years.

It is worth noting that Qasim is the father of a sick child, and colleague Nabihah is bearing the effects of her husband’s disappearance in addition to caring for a sick child, who requires medical support which is currently unavailable inside Syria. This situation exacerbates the gravity of the event, especially as all attempts to communicate with her husband through intermediaries have failed.

The Syrian Women’s Political Movement demands the immediate release of journalist Bakr Qasim, believing in the principle of freedom of speach and the press. We reject the policy of silencing voices, a practice adopted by the Assad regime against which we revolted, noting that such a policy will not be accepted from any other party, Syrian or other.

SWPM also expresses  solidarity with colleague Nabihah Al-Taha during this ordeal and the heavy burdens she bears due to the continued disappearance of her husband and the lack of information about his fate.

Freedom for all detainees in all Syrian prisons and under the control of all de facto powers.

Freedom for journalist Bakr Qasim  

Long live Syria, free and proud 

The General Secretariat of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement  

Thursday, August 29, 2024