"The Syrian government focuses on security more than [internet] service. So it considered uncontrolled access to the internet as a dangerous threat. All telecommunication processes are conducted via a proxy, which specifies the web pages allowed for any user. The proxy is set up to hold all websites as forbidden until the contrary is proven"

Al-Aiham Saleh – Information Technology Expert

General Overview

In July 2000, Syria introduced a perfect example of a hereditary republic in the Arab world. Its success has probably provoked many Arab governments to attempt to copy the same move. In the same month, Bashar Assad, the son of the late former president Hafez Assad was nominated by the Parliament to be the president of the republic and this nomination was confirmed by the poll that was taken on the same month. This step required the amendment of the constitution to decrease the minimum age limit of the nominee from 40 to 34 years old in order to allow Hafez heir to get his position.

The only official position occupied by Bashar Assad before being the president of the state was leading the Syrian Information Technology Association which provided the country with the internet service (1).

Observers unanimously agreed that the Syrian example is considered one of the most obvious examples on the control and dominance of executive authority and the governing party on the public life in the Arab world. The Arab Baath Socialist Party dominates the political life in Syria , and citizens are subject to emergency laws which have been in effect for more than 40 years. Under this climate, the internet entered Syria with slow steps due to the highly exaggerated suspicions of the security bureaus.

Syria 's population is 19 million according to the latest available statistics.

Internet and Telecommunications Sector

In Syria there are some 2.6 million terrestrial phone lines and 2.3 million mobile phone line subscriptions. By the end of 2004 there were some 800,000 internet users (2). These figures are low indicate the weakness of spreading the internet service in comparison with the population census

In the field of telecommunications, the Public Telecommunications Foundation has an exclusive entitlement to provide wire and wireless services all over Syria (3). The internet began officially operating in Syria in 1998. The service spread was only able to spread slowly because the security forces objected the use of the internet on security grounds from the very beginning (4).

Originally subscription to the internet required the submission of official documents such as the Commercial Registry, or evidence of affiliation to a certain syndicate (5). Some of these restrictions have been eliminated during the last few years. However the first two internet service providers still dominate the market. They are Public Telecommunications Foundation http://www.190.sy and Syrian Information Technology Association http://www.scs-net.org/index.php ; both of them are run by the state. However, in 2005, private service provider appeared, Aya company http://www.aya.sy , followed by the Computer Engineering Company http://www.cec.sy (6).

Although the state is attempting to develop the telecommunications sector and increase the numbers of people with access to the internet. It is doing so without any attempt to liberate the market itself. Thus for example the Telecommunications Foundation co-signed a contract with an Italian company to launch a satellite internet service and to construct a series of internet cafés. However, the memorandum stipulates that the new service will be a "reception" only service. If any subscriber needs to send anything via web, they have to go through the servers of the Public Telecommunication Foundation (7). This agreement shows the general situation of the technical situation of the internet inside Syria in addition to the administrative mentality which governs it.

In addition, those who desire to subscribe to the internet face a problem because the public phone lines cannot receive the service (8). Despite the already relatively high cost of telecommunication services in Syria , the state – represented by the Ministry of Telecommunications – imposed a new tax on terrestrial and cellular phone lines of 2% and 3% respectively and called it an "entertainment" tax (9). This arouses suspicions of the seriousness of the state in increasing the spread of using modern telecommunication facilities.

Many initiatives have been launched in recent years, such as The Declaration of the Minister of Telecommunication Omar Salem. He announced a new governmental plan to provide one million computer sets and one million internet connection line at a low rate. He also promised that all imported equipment will be exempted from tariff customs in an attempt to widen the local market and to attract the world's investments (10).

Bloggers in Syria :

Despite the difficult circumstances faced by internet users in Syria these have not stopped the spread of blogging. A few Syrian online blogs have appeared during the last few years. In the beginning of 2005, there were only five Syrian online blogs, which increased to 35 blogs by the beginning of 2006. Ayman Hikal of http://www.damasceneblog.com blog founded the Syrian bloggers' Association with the purpose to gather bloggers in an unofficial assembly. Ayman believes that the limited number of Syrian bloggers is due to the fear of the states reaction to any perceived criticism. As a result of this most of the Syrian blogs have been dependant on posting images and writing few words

Communication and Internet Law:

The Syrian constitution issued in 1970 and amended in 1973 contains many articles which guarantee the freedom of the citizens. Article (25) of Chapter IV stipulates that freedom is a sacred right, and the State guarantees the personal liberty of citizens and preserves their dignity and security. Article (38) provides that every citizen has the right to express his opinion freely and openly by word of mouth, writing, and all other means of expression ... The State guarantees the freedom of printing and publishing, in accordance with the law. Article (39) on the right of the citizens and their right to demonstrate peacefully in the framework of the principles of law and the law regulates the exercise of this right. However, the articles are not implemented in practice, especially given the wide ranging powers given to the executive in the emergency law which has been in force since 1963.

With regard to the press and the media, the President "Bashar Assad" issued Legislative Decree No. (50) in 2001. This guarantees freedom of printing and press, libraries, and publications of all kinds. In 2001 the law on the protection of intellectual property rights and scientific publications, research was also passed but it did not include any laws on or any references to publications on the internet or the control mechanism or methods that allow it to be legitimately used (11).

The state controls the printed, visual, and audio media, according to the press law of September 2001 which severely limits the all the medias freedoms. The Prime Minister is entitled to cancel the license of any printed media upon a recommendation of the Minister of Information who does not have to supply a reason. Though this power ended in 2004, the state still controls traditional media (12). Given the level of control the state has over traditional media it is possible to understand their fear of the internet as an alternative media which can work around the dominance of the state

Ayman Abdel Nour who read the articles of the new law said that the law would give the right to launch websites without prior permission, but it will be required from the website owner to be a university graduate aged at least 25, and not previously charged with any crime. Website construction will require the owner to submit a photocopy of their identity card and place of residence to the judiciary. These requirements would apply only to political news websites. In addition, the text of the law gives the right to "determine what is permitted or not permitted", which will be utilized by the authorities to control the content of websites. These perceptions of the law, first described "Shadi Hijazi" editor of Syria Mirror, are kind "of madness" and "Nidal Maalouf" the editor of "Syria News" website mentioned that if the new law is a trap, they should block our websites now (13).

Journalists are concerned that talk about the organization of controlling electronic publishing means. However, "Kadi Amin" Deputy Syrian Information Minister replied that the chaos is not in anyone's interest and the need to control in order to determine responsibility for websites is very important (14).

Censorship and Website Blocking:

When Bashar Assad came to power, he promised to start a new era. He sent some positive signals such as the release of some political prisoners. All expected that the internet would gain more freedom too, particularly because Bashar was the first supporter of the internet in Syria . However such expectations have proved unfounded. There was no clear intent for the regime to launch any democratic reforms to enlighten the dominance of Ba'ath party (15). More blockings and censorship were imposed o the internet, and the users are arrested, despite the promises of improvement.

When the internet firstly was provided in Syria , the government focused on its own security more than the service itself. Therefore, they considered free and open internet access to pose a great danger. The web was developed so that all access the web had to be via a proxy. The governing rule was that everything is forbidden unless it can proved to be no harm or useful (16). Syrians were, therefore, unable to use any service excluding browsing web pages using HTTP protocol. This meant access to a large number of websites was impossible from within Syria , though many Syrians did not even realize that there were other possible services

From the beginning of the internet in Syria the authorities prevented access to free email services provided by prominent websites like Yahoo, Hotmail, Maktoob etc. (17). This meant that citizens had to use the state-controlled local email service which could be easily controlled, monitored and censored. In 2004 some of these websites were unblocked. However, experts believe that the authorities acquired new security and censorship equipments to censor the emails on these servers and so the situation in terms of freedom remains unchanged (18). The authorities re-blocked Hotmail on 17 July 2006 (19).

Though the Telecommunications Foundation has said that the reason behind the blocking of free websites is fear from the commercial competition this cannot be true as there is no benefit or loss to the foundation if users stop using their email service.

A Syrian internet user said that the reason the government blocks websites is the inability of political decision makers to confess their failure in controlling the open ideas and beliefs that are available online (20). Naturally, another citizen defended the blocking by saying that Yahoo and Hotmail websites are censored by the American CIA, and Maktoob website is affiliated to the Jordanian Intelligence Bureau! He also mentioned that ICQ messenger is affiliated to the Israeli intelligence and is used for spying purposes (21)!

The list of blocked websites is very long and Syrian authorities add new websites to it every day. This is done despite the demands to change the policy and to identify more logical rules. It is not clear who is responsible for the blocking. Some experts believe that the Public Telecommunications Foundation (PFT) is the authority entitled to implement blocking yet others say that the security forces are the blockers (22). Professor Botrous Halaq of the Faculty of Mass Media of Damascus University believes that the internet is only subject to administrative regulations based upon regulating access via Syrian Telecommunications Foundation and Information Technology Association servers which work in harmony with the state (23).

Most of the blocked websites are those which focus on news and politics, particularly those interested in the internal affairs of Syria . For example, in 2005 security forces paid millions of dollars to purchase modern censorship equipment from Germany and the Netherlands , in order to prevent access to the most popular websites in Syria (24).

Officials in the PTF mentioned in a rare statement that since the beginning of investing the internet in Syria, the basic rules to deal with the internet focused on blocking two types of websites: pornographic and anti. The "anti" definition is completely open to interpretation, and included Israeli, Islamic, news, and even Syrian websites (25). It is also clear that the authorities did not actually block pornographic websites.

The Syrian authorities have blocked all websites registered within Israel , which ends with the suffix (.il), and all Kurdish websites, especially after the bloody events of Qamishli, in addition to many news websites such as the famous "Mideast News" which is affiliated to Muslim Brotherhood, and the "Arab Times" (26). In 2003, Adnan Omran the Syrian Information Minister requested the blocking of Ilaf newspaper website inside Syria after the website published an article entitled "The freedoms and confusion of the Syrian media" (27). Islam Online (28), Gazette, Syrian Scene issued by the Syrian Center for Media and freedom of expression were also blocked in 24 June 2006 . The Syrian Scientific Association blocked the Domari website (29). This site was specifically kept open through other service providers, such as "Telecommunications Company" or "Aya" and Shows the lack of consistency in the blocking (30).

When Aya Company launched its services, many blocked services were provided and some blocked sites were unblocked. However, this limited freedom did not last. The Telecommunications Foundation obliged the new service provider to block sites in line with the other providers. Hence, users discovered that the websites which they were able to access previously are now blocked.

When a page is blocked users are able to complain by writing their feedback, however, the likelihood of anyone doing this is very slim since they must include their name and phone number (31).

One citizen mentioned that he faced dozens of blocked websites, including Muslim Brotherhood websites. The main reason behind this is imposing more restrictions on the internet (32). Another citizen said that the blocked websites are political and newspapers websites (33). Another citizen mentioned that authorities block political and human rights websites (34). All the messages which came in response to research questions confirmed the high cost of the internet service in Syria . This limited its spread in Syria .

Blocking is not the biggest risk faced by active internet publishers in Syria as they may also be imprisoned. On 23 June 2006 , the Kurdish journalist, Masoud Hamed was released after spending three years in prison as a penalty for posting online photos for a protest launched by Kurdish children in Syria in 25 June 2003 (35). The Syrian prisons include some citizens accused of using the internet.

Some internet service provider have even announced even more new blocking services for clients For example, the Information Society provides a "Filtering" service claims to be a free service which secures the subscribers against the internet threats. This filter works on blocking immoral and violent websites in addition to chat programs according to advertisements (36). The Engineering Computer Company, the newest internet service provider in Syria , started its promotion campaign by providing secure service for families. The company called upon the citizens to apply for any website to be blocked which they consider harmful. Some observers considered this an invitation for Syrian citizens to work as informers (37).

Nevertheless, Syrians have invented many methods to avoid governmental blocking and censorship. Some information technology expert said that the purpose of censorship is not achieved because thousands of blocked emails have made the Syrian users experts at getting around the government blocking policy. The newest hacking method is sold on CDs everywhere in Syria (38).

Despite the blocking, online publishing has found an outlet and achieved a presence among citizens who wished to explore independent sources of information which is not government control. This is done despite the severe risks that surround any presence on the web which is not in accordance with the governments view.

The Syria News website is a free electronic newspaper comparable to those at the level of the modern Arab media. The number of surfers of the main page reaches up to 10 thousand persons, and the number of read pages per day reaches up to 100 thousand pages. The website editor is Nidal Maalouf who believes that he is moving through a wide margin of freedom, which creates an atmosphere of uneasiness on the part of some official quarters, and that sometimes receive comments on - including phone calls- and the adverse effects of some of the topics published (39).

Internet Prisoners in Syria

The Supreme Security Court in Damascus has had many internet users arrested the following is a list of some of these internet prisoners (40):

• Masoud Hamid 2003

Masoud Hamid was awarded Internet Freedom Prize 2005 from France Foundation and Reporters Sans Frontieres on 7 December 2005 .

The 29 years old, Syrian Kurdish student, was arrested on 24 July 2004 for participating in a demonstration on 25 June 2003 calling for the civil and political rights of Syrian Kurdish citizens, including the right of their children to learn the Kurdish language. Policemen and Security forces arrested Hamid while dispersing demonstrators violently. Masoud Hamid was arrested for posting photo for the demonstration on different websites; including the Kurdish website www.amude.com .

On 10 October 2004 , The Higher State Security Court sentenced Hamid for five years on the charge of membership of "a secret organization and taking part in "the endeavor to extract a part of Syrian lands to add it to foreign lands". These two charges are usually levied against Kurdish citizens in Syria . It was reported that Hamid was tortured in the investigations. According to the information given by Amnesty International, he was also tortured on account of joining a hunger strike on October 2004 with other Syrian Kurdish citizens, in protest of the miserable circumstances of imprisonment.

- Mohanad Quatish, Haitham Quatish and Yahia Al-Auis – 2004

On 25 July 2005, the Higher State Security Court of Damascus sentenced Haitham Quatish to four years, Mohanad Quatish to three years and Yahia Al-Auis to two years in jail. They had been detained for almost two years before being trialed. The Syria Security Authority accused and detained Haitham and Mohanad and the journalist Yahia Al-Awes for "gathering confidential information which may affect the interest of the state in order to deliver it to a foreign country" and of spreading "false information abroad" via the internet. In 2002, they were arrested for sending articles to an online newspaper in UAE. Mohanad and Yahia were accused of "inciting for gathering information which must stay confidential to preserve state security against the hostile activities of foreign countries”.

- Mohammad Hassan Zieb -2005

In May 26 2005 , Mohammad was detained without a trial .The charges leveled against him by the state were of weakening the national feeling, degrading the court prestige, and having of obtaining information through internet.

- Habib Salah May 29 2005

In May 29 2005 , Syrian security authorities arrested the human rights activist Habib Salah at his office in Tartos. The arrest and detention were probably carried out by the Syrian Military Police branch. The reason for the detention was because of the article he wrote in the "Civilized Dialogue", " Middle East " and "Al-Raay" websites affiliated to the Syrian People Democratic party. The articles, with their open version, were directed to the 10 th National conference of Ba'ath party which was due to be held in June 6 2005 . Salah was one of detainees of the Damascus spring. He was sentenced to three years in prison by the Supreme Court.

- Mohammad Ghanim

In March 2006 the military police in Reqa town arrested the independent writer, journalist and editor of sourion website www.surion.org. Mohammad Ghaniem in June. He was sentenced to one year in prison later lowered to 6 months. This was due to his articles and stance that he wrote in the Sorion site which he called "the national, democratic, independent and free site” .Mohammad Ghanim works as teacher, he is the authors of many novels and is known for his defense of the Kurdish minority in Syria .

Internet Cafes

Internet cafes are widely spread all over Syria , particularly in Damascus and other surrounding cities.

In order to get a license to run an internet café the owner must apply to the Telecommunications Department in their governorate and comply with the regulations set down in the Conditions Manual. They are then inspected by a specialized and then the license can be granted (41).

The Conditions Manual contains many detailed stipulations which regulate virtually every aspect of the café, these include: the spacing between computer sets, and a minimum number of computer sets (not less than four). That there must be a bathroom for men and another bathroom for women. There may be no refrigerator to sell drinks from, (for this the café owner must have a restaurant license). Further all the equipment, computers hubs and so on must be available for when the inspection committee visits the café to license it. This means any owner must spend all the money on the café before being sure that the authorities will allow the café to run or not. Some citizens mentioned to HRinfo that any problems resulted from this situation can be solved by paying bribes (42).

The cost of using the internet per hour in these cafes ranges from 50 to 100 Liras (1-2 dollars). This is considered by many citizens to be too expensive. A poll by 100 students in different institutes proved that entertainment websites (mostly pornographic) are the most visited, followed by chatting websites. 25% of the sample said that they spend 400 Liras per week on internet cafes, and surprisingly 45% of the sample has access to email. However, since all internet cafes are obliged to use filters to block pornographic websites the results of this survey point to either the inefficiency of these systems or to the fact that pornography is not really the government's main target for censorship (43).

Security forces wearing plain clothes walk up and down the streets nearby internet cafes and frequently enter them in order to censor visitors' activities. The security forces oblige internet cafes owners to spy on their visitors and threaten them with closure of the café if they do not cooperate properly (44).

An internet cafe supervisor said that many people who attend his café already have the internet service at home, but they can not surf certain websites and so they come to internet cafes to surf them more freely, away from the control of parents (45).

Women are frequent visitors to internet cafés, but mostly visit these cafes during the day. Some cafes organize separate places: one for males and one for females. Though the majority of cafes do not impose gender separation.

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