Human rights activists Jdea Abdullah Nawfal arbitrarily arrested by regime security while traveling to Lebanon

The Assad regime arrested the human rights activist Jdei Abdullah Nawfal at the Syrian-Lebanese border on Friday while en route to Beirut, Lebanon.

Lawyer and human rights activist Micheal Shamas posted on his Facebook account that regime security agencies arrested Nawfal on April 1 at the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Nawfal is the executive manager of the Center for Civil Society and Democracy in Syria, established in 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution to "spread and establish the culture of human rights."

The lawyer said the arbitrary arrest was an "extra clue that the regime does not allow civil peaceful activities and a confirmation that the regime and the armed opposition both target civil peaceful activists."

Nawfal, 65, was imprisoned in 1992 for five years for his promotion of human rights and democracy in Syria. He was also arrested for more than two months at the end of 2014 while returning from Beirut.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.