The Vice President of the Shariah Commission of Damascus and its countryside, Sheikh Riad al-Kharqi, also known as "Abi Thabet", was released from the prison of Tawba, held by the Army of Islam on Wednesday.
The spokesman for the Union of Revolution Committees, Yousef al-Bustani, revealed to al-Quds al-Arabi that the release was made after some leaders in the Eastern Ghouta sought to calm a tense situation, including Abu Subhi Taha, head of the Council of Jihadists.
The former president of the Syrian National Coalition, Sheikh Moaz Khatib, held prolonged telephone calls with Zahran Alloush, the commander of the Army of Islam and Abu Muhammad al-Fateh, the commander of the Soldiers of Sham.
Khatib quoted them as saying that what had taken place "occured without the knowledge of the leaders and without their consent."
The Shariah Commission in Eastern Ghouta condemned the actions of the Army of Islam (which fights under the banner of the Islamic Front) in arresting Abu Thabet. The Commission issued a statement in which it accused the Army of Islam of seeking to disrupt the efforts to unify the judiciary in Eastern Ghouta. The statement said it considered the brigade commander and the Shura Council in Douma responsible for any harm to the kidnapped Sheikh.
According to activists, Sheikh, who serves as a religious judge at the Shariah Commission in Eastern Ghouta, had been arrested after the members of the Army of Islam raided the office of the judiciary in the town of Hizza in the countryside of Damascus, where he was taken to a prison held by the Army "upon charges of harming the dignity of the Army".
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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