DAMASCUS, Syria, May 15 (UPI) -- A Syrian political activist was arrested Monday apparently for signing a petition calling for Lebanon and Syria to affirm mutual respect of independence.
The president of the National Organization of Human Rights in Syria, Ammar Kurbi, said that security authorities detained political activist Michel Kilo, projecting that he will not be released in the near future.
Kurbi told United Press International that "one of the security agencies summoned Kilo Sunday noon and did not allow him to leave which means he was arrested."
He said the arrest could probably be linked to Kilo's signing of a statement endorsed by Lebanese and Syrian intellectuals.
The statement signed by some 500 intellectuals called for rectifying Lebanese-Syrian relations on the basis of mutual respect of sovereignty and independence.
According to Kurbi, "Kilo will not be released soon" and that "he would be referred to trial just as happened with other activists such as Ali Abdullah and communist leader Fateh Gamous."
