February 01, 2008	Friday	Muharram 22, 1429

DAMASCUS, Jan 31: Prominent Syrian artist Talal Abu Dan has been arrested and his studio ransacked in the latest crackdown against opposition activists, a rights group said on Thursday.

“The painter and activist Talal Abu Dan was summoned by the security services in Aleppo (on Wednesday) and has not reappeared since,” said Ammar Qorabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria.He said in a statement that Abu Dan was transported to Damascus, where the authorities are holding a number of dissidents on national security charges for attending an opposition meeting in the Syrian capital last month.

At least 11 people, including former MP Riad Seif, have already been detained for attending a meeting of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration, which calls for radical democratic change in Syria.

“Abu Dan’s studio in Aleppo was ransacked on Jan 21 and paintings and canvases were all destroyed,” Qorabi said.—AFP