Bassel Khartabil: fears for man who brought open internet to the Arab world

The developer’s imprisonment is a sign that technologists are being targeted along with journalists and human rights lawyersSyria never had a hackerspace until Bassel Khartabil – known online as Bassel Sudafi – started Aiki Lab in Damascus in 2010. The Palestinian-Syrian open-source software developer used it as a base from which to advanced the free software and free culture movements in his country. Because of Khartabil’s work, people gained new tools to express themsel