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RWB welcomes "long overdue" Syrian amnesty for some journalists

PARIS, Sept 1 (KUNA) -- International press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RWB) on Tuesday welcomed what it said was a "long overdue" decision by a Syrian court to amnesty a number of journalists and media workers accused of terrorism by the Regime.
Head of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) Mazen Darwish, a well-known and outspoken intellectual, was amnestied in line with a political decree dating from 2014, RWB said in a statement.
Four other members of SCM, including journalists, were also amnestied by the anti-terrorism court in Damascus.
"We are relieved to learn that the trial of Mazen Darwish and his colleagues has ended with their unconditional release under this amnesty," RWB Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said in the statement.
"These journalists and human rights activists were not guilty of any crime and paid the high price of more than three years in prison for legitimate activities. The decision to apply the 2014 amnesty to their case is good news although long overdue. We ask the authorities to free all the journalists who are unjustly detained in Syria," Deloire added.
Syria is ranked 177th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index and it is the world's most dangerous country for journalists. (end) jk.msa