Syrian intelligence agencies have released opposition activist Muhannad Shehab al-Din, from Suweida province, after direct intervention from the Rijal al-Karameh (Men of Dignity) movement that operates in the province.
Local networks, including Suweida 24, reported that the Assad regime’s Military Security branch had released the activist on Monday about four months after his arrest for his dissenting views and positions of the Syrian regime. It added that Shehab al-Din had arrived at the house of the Rijal al-Karameh commander, Sheikh Abou Hassan Yahya al-Hajjar in the village of Shannireh south of Suweida.
Assad’s intelligence agencies arrested Shehab al-Din in mid-June from his place of work, near Ayn al-Zaman, west of the city of Suweida. The activist’s arrest had followed an attack by local factions against the Military Intelligence branch. Clashes had played out around it without any killed or wounded. After that, the city had witnessed major security deployment.
Who is Muhannad Shehab al-Din?
Muhannad Shehab al-Din is from the city of Suweida, born in 1973. He worked in carpentry and furniture, and had obtained a diploma from the law faculty at Damascus University. He is married and has four children, according to information gathered by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Shehab al-Din is considered to be a peaceful opponent of the Assad regime and has a Facebook account, in which he has expressed his rejection of Assad regime’s violations and mourned the Syrian revolution’s “goalkeeper”, Abdel Basat al-Sarout.
Shehab al-Din was previously arrested in March after a famous incident in which he broke a coffee cup in front of the tomb of Sultan al-Atrash in Suweida on the anniversary of his death, and told those present, “This is a cup of strength and will not be broken except here” in a reference to a delegation of Suwedia residents who had visited regime President Bashar al-Assad and broken a coffee cup in front of him, which indicated that he was still the leader of Jabal al-Arab (Jabal al-Druze).
Since Shehab al-Din’s arrest, Suwedia province has seen security tensions with dozens of activists protesting multiple times to demand his release and carrying signs criticizing the arrest.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
