Youssef Abdelke, an internationally acclaimed Syrian artist and a communist activist from the Christian community, spent the best part of 1978 to 1980 incarcerated. Following this he went into a self-imposed exile in Paris, until he returned to Syria in 2005, where he has been relating the tragedy of what is happening in Syria through his work.

The artist and dissident had just signed a petition started by Syrian academics and artists calling for a peaceful and political solution to the conflict in the country that has now gone on for over two years. The document demands the ouster of Bashar al-Assad and a transition to a democratic system with an interim government under UN supervision.  Unfortunately, Abdelke was arrested last Thursday (July 19th) by Assad forces at a security checkpoint in the port city of Tartus.

Over the last few years Syria has seen an increase in the targeting of intellectuals and artists: from the cartoonist Ali Ferzat who was arrested and had his hands broken, to ‘The Singer of the Revolution’, Ibrahim Kashoush, who had his throat cut.

There is currently a Facebook campaign, launched in Syria, calling for the release of Youssef Abdelke.