Freed Al Atassi swears by rights fight

Dubai: Syrian authorities released prominent human rights activist Suhair Al Atassi on bail on Sunday and the civil liberties champion promptly vowed to continue leading her struggle against political repression, saying she would not stop till Syrians were assured of their full political rights.

Al Atassi, speaking from her home in Rabwa district in Damascus a few hours after her release from a solitary cell in one of the security centres in the capital, said she was excited about the political developments that had unfolded since the time she was confined in Douma Prison on March 16.

Her mother paid 16,000 Syrian pounds (Dh1,215), three times the amount set by the investigating judge to bail about 30 men and women arrested on charges of taking part in anti-state protests.

To many Syrians, Al Atassi personifies the yearning for political change sweeping the country.