Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Speaks Out for Dr. Rafah Nachad, Imprisoned in Syria

Today’s story is not pretty, but we need to remember the suffering of the people of Syria in their battle for freedom from oppression of the worst kind.

Rafah Nached, 66, was arrested and put in prison under fake charges by the Syrian authorities under Bashar al-Assad on the 10th of September. The arrest occurred at the Damascus airport as she was boarding a plane to go to Paris to help in her daughter’s giving birth.

Dr. Nachad is the first woman to exercise the practice of psychoanalysis in Syria. She was educated in Paris but worked in Syria and was known internationally for her work. She had overcome cancer but suffers from high blood pressure and heart problems.

When her family was allowed to visit her in the Damascus jail where she is being held, they reported that she was too weak to stand during the visit.

This weekend, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, wife of the French President, wrote an open letter to Dr. Nachad’s husband, calling on the Syrian regime to release Dr. Nachad without delay.   

Carla Bruni wrote, “…everyone who knows her is worried about her health….It seems inconceivable to me that this clinician, who has devoted her life to therapy and research, could be a threat to the public order or to Syria’s security.”

The First Lady of France added, “Dr. Nachad was an accomplished woman renowned worldwide for her life and work, which is an honor to Syria, to Syrian and Arab women, and to all women everywhere…who recognize today the injustice of her detention.”

Madame Sarkozy ended by expressing her profound admiration and sympathy for Dr. Nachad and her husband, also a doctor. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy also told the world that the little granddaughter born in Paris was named Indya and is doing well.

Madame Sarkozy’s letter was published on line in the website, “La règle du jeu”, of Bernard-Henri Levy, the French philosopher who has taken an active interest in the Arab Spring and especially in Libya.

And so, dear readers, the battle for Syria goes on and the innocent are the pawns - arrested, tortured, killed - by an al-Assad regime that knows no decency in its effort to survive.

Please keep Dr. Nachad and her family in your thoughts and prayers.