Lebanese security services arrested Zaman al-Wasl reporter in Arsal's refugee camps following his latest report over 20 Syrian refugee women who were aborted due to polluted water, editor-in-chief Fathi Bayoud said Wednesday.
Abdul Hafiz al-Houlani was arrested early morning by the State Security who ordered the 40-year-old reporter to visit its branch in Hermel district.
20 Syrian refugee women aborted in Arsal due to polluted water
Since the press freedom is fundamental to any democratic society, Zaman Al Wasl demands the Lebanese government to release al-Houlani and to not undermine freedom of speech under any pretext.
Last week, about 20 Syrian refugee women in Lebanese Arsal town aborted due to the polluted water that might carried deadly virus, medics told Zaman al-Wasl reporter.
A health official in the al-Irshad association, spoke on condition of anonymity, said all cases examined and treated did not contain any physical cases requiring abortion, such as drinking medicines or carrying heavy weights.
Their health records showed that they had not experienced any miscarriage before and that many children had had a normal birth.
Abu Abdul Rahman, one of the Syrian refugees in the Huda camp in al-Masyada district, said the the polluted water is the reason for the tragic loss.
The camp includes 55 families, where five abortions have occurred.
"My wife, my sister, my niece and two of our neighbors were aborted on Tuesday, Abdul Rahman said.
Zaman Al Wasl TV has interviewed the victims who demand the Lebanese authorities to investigate the reasons behind the mysterious abortion amid mounting discrimination the refugees face in Lebanon.
For them, he matter is not just a matter of polluted water.
About 55,000 Syrian refugees had returned since July, according to the Lebanese Caretaker Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Mouin Merehbi, such a number contrasts with that announced by General Security last week, which put the number of returnees at almost 90,000 during the same period. He went on to criticize what he called a lack of coordination between General Security and his ministry
The prominent dissident said the Lebanese authorities have the full responsibility for the lives of the Syrians in Lebanon and for the life of those who forced them to return to the criminal regime.
The conflict has displaced more than 5 million Syrians outside the country, the United Nations says, with more than half displaced to Turkey and most of the rest split between Lebanon and Jordan
Thousands of Syrians are unable to return because their homes were destroyed in the fighting, or because they region fear military conscription or retribution from regime forces.
Since the Syrian revolution erupted in 2011, more than 470,000 people have been killed, and more than 6 million people have been displaced.
Zaman Al Wasl
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