HRW demands info on Syrian rights activist

NEW YORK, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch called on the Syrian government to come forward with information regarding rights activist Haytham al-Maleh, who disappeared Wednesday.

Human-rights activists in Syria told the organization they believe Syrian officials are holding 78-year-old Maleh because of statements given during a phone interview with the opposition television station Barada TV.

"Given Syria's usual response to criticism, it would come as no surprise if they have 'disappeared' this78-year-old human rights activist for no other reason than a television interview," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "If the government is holding him, they should say so and release him."

Maleh was imprisoned in the 1980s for his role with the local bar association Freedom and Human Rights Committee of the Syrian Lawyers Union.

Human Rights Watch notes Syrian has a "persistent" record of jailing dissidents despite its foreign policy efforts at engagement.

"Syria is busy welcoming foreign diplomats and talking about peace and development, but to its internal critics, it only unfurls the prison mat," said Whitson.