Jalal Al Taweel calls for an end to protests in Syria

The official Syrian state television channel aired a recorded interview with Syrian actor Jalal Al Taweel a day after he was released from a Syrian prison. Jalal denied allegations that he was arrested and detained by Syrian police officials, instead claiming that he was kidnapped by an armed gang and was rescued by Syrian police officials near the Jordanian border. According to the London based Elaph, Jalal stated that he was kidnapped while travelling to Jordan by car, en route to France to complete his academic studies. Jalal added that the gang forced him to make false statements regarding his political views and to say that he took part in protests that in reality never occurred. The actor stressed that it is terrible to see Syrians kill each other over political differences, and that the streets of Syria are full of armed gangs that do not represent the Syrian people.