Opposition: Syrian Red Crescent Official Arrested
Syria's feared security forces arrested a Syrian Arab Red Crescent official and ambulance team leader in Damascus, a leading opposition bloc said on Wednesday, without specifying the reason.
Mohammed Raed al-Taweel, 36, was arrested last Thursday at a Red Crescent branch in the Abu Rummaneh district of Damascus, said the Syrian National Council.
A source close to the Red Crescent confirmed the arrest to AFP, as did the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Taweel was arrested from in front of a Red Crescent office in Damascus," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
"It is yet another sign of the limits on the Red Crescent's capacity to work independently in Syria," Abdel Rahman added, adding that Taweel remains in captivity almost a week on from his arrest.
According to award-winning Syrian blogger and activist Razan Ghazzawi, Taweel is married with one child. He has been volunteering with the Red Crescent for more than 18 years, she said on her blog.
Taweel "suffers from a previous injury in the back...and hence he is in constant need of medical care and medications," said Ghazzawi.
Thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained in Syria since the outbreak of an anti-regime revolt in March last year, monitoring groups say. Rights groups say many detainees are subjected to torture and deprived other basic rights.
Source: Agence France Presse
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