The Independent
"One of Syria's leading human rights activists has claimed that protesters shooting videos on their mobile phones are now being deliberately targeted by the security services as the government tries to get a grip on the propaganda war.
Radwan Ziadeh, who has become one of the most prominent opposition figures outside Syria since the uprising began in mid-March, said that the security services were now trying to forestall negative media attention by sweeping through neighbourhoods before operations and ordering civilians not to film them.
It comes after disturbing footage emerged of a man apparently being shot while filming a gun-toting soldier in Homs on Friday. The video, uploaded on to YouTube over the weekend, shows an unseen cameraman trying to film the soldier from what appears to be his balcony....
The internet has played a pivotal role in Syria's 14-week uprising – perhaps more so than in any of the other Arab insurrections.
Numerous videos have emerged offering evidence of government brutality, most notably the footage of Hamza al-Khatib, the Syrian schoolboy who was tortured to death in police custody and who became a cause célèbre when shots of his battered body were posted on YouTube after it was returned to his parents in May.
Given the power such videos have to fuel anti-government feeling, it is no wonder the government appears determined to crack down on them.
"For a long time the security services have been confiscating footage from people they arrest," said Nadim Houry, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch based in Beirut."
"One of Syria's leading human rights activists has claimed that protesters shooting videos on their mobile phones are now being deliberately targeted by the security services as the government tries to get a grip on the propaganda war.
Radwan Ziadeh, who has become one of the most prominent opposition figures outside Syria since the uprising began in mid-March, said that the security services were now trying to forestall negative media attention by sweeping through neighbourhoods before operations and ordering civilians not to film them.
It comes after disturbing footage emerged of a man apparently being shot while filming a gun-toting soldier in Homs on Friday. The video, uploaded on to YouTube over the weekend, shows an unseen cameraman trying to film the soldier from what appears to be his balcony....
The internet has played a pivotal role in Syria's 14-week uprising – perhaps more so than in any of the other Arab insurrections.
Numerous videos have emerged offering evidence of government brutality, most notably the footage of Hamza al-Khatib, the Syrian schoolboy who was tortured to death in police custody and who became a cause célèbre when shots of his battered body were posted on YouTube after it was returned to his parents in May.
Given the power such videos have to fuel anti-government feeling, it is no wonder the government appears determined to crack down on them.
"For a long time the security services have been confiscating footage from people they arrest," said Nadim Houry, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch based in Beirut."
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