Israeli-Druze released from Syrian prison
Majdel Shams resident, who was imprisoned in Syria on charges of spying for Israel, freed after 12 years; Israeli officials are working on bringing him back home.
Barjes Awidat, 47, an Israeli-Druze from Majdal Shams, was released on Monday from Syrian prison after serving 12 years on charges of spying for Israel.
Awidat was released to the Druze city of Suweida in southern Syria, and is currently awaiting his transfer back to Israel, with MK Ayoob Kara working to bring him home.
Awidat travelled to Syria to study dentistry. At one point during his studies, all communications between him and his family in Israel ceased. It was only five years later that his family discovered that he was arrested by the Assad regime on charges of espionage.
Hail a-Safadi, Awidat's relative, said that "Barjes was living in student dorms in Damascus when he was arrested by the secret police's Palestine Division. He still doesn't understand why they arrested him and on what grounds, although the Syrian regime accused him of spying. After his arrest, all contact with him was lost until a high ranking Israeli government official intervened."
A-Safadi continued, "the Israeli official dealt with this issue for years, and even managed to send Barjas's mother to Syria twice. She wasn't able to find out what happened to him or why he was arrested the first time she visited, but the second time she went, she was able to visit him in prison - something that almost never happens."
According to a-Safadi, the civil war in Syria, the situation in Syrian prisons, and the pressure the family and Israeli officials put on the Syrian government, all helped to secue Awidat's release. The Syrian government also hopes that Awidat's release would ease the pressure being put on it by the Syrian Druze community.
Awidat's mother and sister rejoiced at the news of his release. "I just want to see my son in my arms again," his mother said. "I miss him so much. I haven't hugged him in years. I won't be able to relax as long as he's so far away from me."
