BEIRUT // Alaa Morelli, an opposition activist, escaped the worst in Syrian prisons but to secure her freedom she lied during a forced "confession" on state television and said the uprising was the work of foreigners.
A student of Latakia university, which is on Syria's Mediterranean coastline, Ms Morelli, 23, was arrested on June 12 last year just after sitting one of her second-year exams.
A fellow student reported her for making and distributing pamphlets, which called on Latakia residents to protest against the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad.
"I came out of my exam and saw members of the security forces standing there with a student. He pointed me out to them and they detained me," she said.
Ms Morelli spent more than two months in detention and was constantly moved between prisons.
"I saw horrible things," she said with a voice that wavered.
"The guards kept threatening me with solitary confinement and gave me very hard psychological treatment. But other girls suffered much worse.
"I saw a cell packed with some 40 women, all naked, blindfolded and handcuffed. They weren't allowed to sit, they could only stand."
Syria's jails are believed to house about 35,000 activists and rights groups have said that detainees have faced systematic torture.
Ms Morelli said she believed she was spared the worst because she admitted her "crimes" on television.
Syria's state television regularly airs "confessions" of detained citizens accused of working or fighting for the opposition.
Ms Morelli's "confession" was broadcast for weeks. It showed her looking serious and with her head wrapped in an austere white veil.
Ms Morelli told viewers she had agreed to report fabricated news of anti-regime demonstrations and crackdowns on dissidents for the pan-Arab TV station Al Jazeera, using a pseudonym.
The Syrian regime has refused to admit the existence of a popular movement against Mr Al Assad's rule and used the term "terrorists" as a blanket designation for the opposition.
The regime had also blamed foreign states for sparking violence.
"What I was saying [on Al Jazeera] was not true. There was nothing happening in Latakia. People were going about their daily lives," Ms Morelli said in her televised confession in which she also gave details of rebels who were smuggling in satellite equipment for activists.
The goal of anti-regime activists' she said through tears in her televised confession was to divide the country and to turn international public opinion against Syria. "They made Syria look like a pool of blood, when there was nothing happening here," she said.
She also confessed to having participated in "spilling the blood of Syrians".
Dissidents launched a campaign for her release, which was secured through a prisoner exchange.
"Eventually, it was thanks to a [rebel] Free Syrian Army brigade that another girl and I got out," she said. "They arranged a prisoner exchange for several soldiers in return for us."
The prisoner exchange introduced her to her husband, Said Tarbush, the rebel commander of the Ahrar Jable battalion that negotiated the deal.
Ms Morelli married Mr Tarbush and moved with him to Turkey.
"Any girl in my shoes would have done the same. He saved my life, and showed me the real meaning of love," she said.
The heavily bearded Mr Tarbush speaks in a deep voice and frequently uses Islamic phrases. He appeared hardened by months of fighting the army in the countryside of Latakia, most of which is in regime control.
He said he is extremely proud of his wife. "Can't you see how strong she is?" he said with a smile.
Ms Morelli dreams of finishing her studies and gaining a degree in history. "I want to go back to Latakia some day, this time as a teacher," she said.
At present, Ms Morelli and a group of friends raise funds in Turkey and make short trips into Syria through rebel-held border posts. They deliver food and basic goods to families forced to flee their homes.
She said about US$1,000 [Dh3,670] is raised at a time and they then use that money to buy provisions, which they take into the Aleppo or Idlib provinces in northern Syria where tens of thousands have been displaced by the fighting.
"It is not enough, but it's better than nothing," Ms Morelli said. "Only we young people can help Syria, because in the world's eyes, we're just numbers."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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