Syria Should Release All Detained Protesters, Human Rights Says

Syria should immediately release all those arrested yesterday by security officers who “violently dispersed a peaceful protest calling for the release of political activists,” Human Rights Watch said.

Syrian authorities detained at least 34 people as 150 protesters demonstrated outside the Interior Ministry and urged the government in Damascus to release their imprisoned or detained relatives, the New York-based organization said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. Human Rights Watch said it was able to verify independently the detention of 18 people.