Abraham Dwek, president of the Committee for the Rescue of Syrian Jewry, reported here today that six Syrian Jews are imprisoned and being tortured in a Damascus jail. According to Dwek, the five men and a woman, all members of the Saadia family, were abducted in Beirut, to which they had escaped, late last month by Syrian agents and were taken to Syria with their children.
Dwek also reported that four other Syrian Jews continue to be imprisoned in the city of Aleppo. He identified them as members of the Farhi, Marashli and Koss families who were arrested two months ago.
According to Dwek, a young Jewish woman, Badria Barakat, was shot and seriously wounded in the back when she attempted to cross the border with her family last year. She is currently in the United States for medical treatment of her broken spine, Dwek disclosed. He said that her husband and children were jailed for six months and tortured when they tried to flee Syria to join her.
In a telegram to President Reagan today, Dwek called on the President to appeal to Syrian President Hafez Assad to release the imprisoned Jews and let the 4,500 Syrian Jews emigrate.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
