While Assad has used the US invasion of Iraq and the 'chaos' surrounding his country in the Middle East to justify his tight control over the limited freedom of expression allowed in Syria, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that 'a review of Syria's record shows a consistent policy of repressing dissent regardless of international or regional developments'.
Assad's state security forces have jailed at least 92 human rights activists and 25 bloggers and journalists in the past 10 years, according to a report released by the organisation on Friday."
