Syria frees iconic blogger Ghazzawi

The Syrian authorities have freed blogger Razan Ghazzawi, symbol of an 11-month uprising, and six other female activists arrested last week, a human rights lawyer said on Monday. The women were released on Saturday, but were ordered to report to police daily in order to continue their questioning, the lawyer, Anwar Bunni, told AFP. They were part of a group of 14 activists people arrested Thursday in a raid on the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, a group headed by rights activist Mazen Darwish. Darwish and the others remain in custody, Bunni said, adding that police were investigating origins of information used by the centre, as well as its sources of funding. Meanwhile, judicial authorities in the northern city of Aleppo freed film director Firas Fayyad who is on trial over charges of spreading false news and being a member of an opposition party, Bunni said. Fayyad was arrested in November at Damascus airport while trying to leave the country. He will not now be in custody while his trial is held, Bunni said.