AFP - A Syrian blogger arrested six days ago was released on Thursday without charge, a human rights activist said.
"Ahmad Hadifa was released today and no charges were brought against him," said Abdel Karim Rehaoui, president of the Syrian Human Rights League.
Hadifa, a 28-year-old journalism student who writes under the name Ahmad Aboul-Kheir, was arrested on February 19 in Damascus, rights groups said.
His blog, ahmadblogs.net, explained how to bypass blocks on access to websites, and carried articles about the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, and how revolution could sweep the region.
Rehaoui welcomed the blogger's release and called for "more positive steps" from the Syrian government, echoing a call by the United States.
Social networking websites and blogs have played a major role in launching and sustaining popular uprisings that brought down the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt.
Syrian Internet users said direct access to YouTube and Facebook, which had been blocked since 2007, was restored on February 9.
A law approved by the Syrian government in November punishes bloggers with heavy fines and jail sentences if they are convicted of defamation.
Syria ranked 173rd of 178 countries in a 2010 list of press freedom around the world by Reporters Without Borders, eight places lower than in 2009 because of its stepped up controls of the Internet.
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