KURDWATCH, January 5, 2012—Nihru Sharif Shaykhi (b. 1984, married, one child) was arrested in Bab al-Hawa at the Syrian-Turkish border on January 3, 2012 while attempting to leave Syria. He was taken by the police to the Political Security Directorate in Damascus. Shaykhi is from al-Darbasiyah, where he took part in dissident demonstrations.