Mediamen against violence blasts govt

Avaaz Beirut – Georges Chahine An NGO called "Mediamen Against Violence" has denounced a Lebanese order to prevent the director of crisis aid organisation "Avaaz" in the in Arab world, Wassem Zaref, from leaving Lebanon. Zaref has had his passport confiscated reportedly because of his support for the Syrian revolution as well as being a human rights activist. The group expressed it sorrow for the incident, similar to that of recently departed journalist Samir Kassir, saying: "How can they arrest an activist according to an administrative decision and not a juridical one, without giving reasons for this arrest, especially after the Lebanese, Arab and international condemnation of the handover of 14 Syrians to the Syrian authorities by Lebanese security." The group went on to say that the continuation of the government was a threat to the constitution and the Lebanese entity, calling for an end to human rights violations.