A senior Labour MP has said she is "appalled" by reports that award-winning Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim had her passport confiscated by UK border authorities last month and has called on the Home Office to urgently review its policy.
Helen Goodman, chair of the National Union of Journalists Parliamentary Group, said Erhaim had been targeted because she had been critical of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime.
"I am appalled that the Home Office is taking instructions from Assad," Goodman said.
Erhaim told The Observer she had been questioned for an hour at Heathrow Airport on 22 September after being told her passport had been reported stolen by authorities in Damascus.
She had been invited to the UK for a debate by campaign organisation Index on Censorship as the winner of its Freedom of Expression journalism award. She was able to use her old passport to eventually enter the UK but said it is effectively unusable as its pages are filled and therefore further travel may be impossible.
Ydy #UKBA confiscate my 5 months old #Syria|n passport which I used 2 come 2 their tiny lands & many EU 1s & has more than 20 stamps on it!
Goodman said in her statement on Tuesday: "Ms Erhaim is an award-winning journalist who works for a UK-based institute [the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)]. Of course the Assad regime don't want reports of their bombardment of civilians reaching us – the British government should not collude with this censorship.
"She is being targeted by the Assad regime of which she has been critical. By removing her passport, the Home Office is complying with Assad’s wishes. To make matters worse, they suggested Ms Erhaim could seek help from the consular services of the very government that is persecuting her."
The Labour MP said the Home Office should offer Erhaim "all possible assistance and urgently review its policy and procedures for dealing with cases in which a repressive regime seeks to exercise power through British border controls".
A Home Office spokesperson said in a statement to BuzzFeed News: "Our first priority is the security of our borders and it would be irresponsible to ignore warnings about lost or stolen passports.
“The British Government has no direct contact with the Assad regime due to the atrocities it has committed against the Syrian people.” The spokesperson confirmed Erhaim's passport has been retained by the British authorities and will not be returned to the Syrian authorities.
Goodman's call however adds to a growing number of voices putting pressure on the Home Office over Erhaim's case.
Anthony Borden, founder of the IWPR, said: “Zaina Ehraim is internationally recognised as one of the most courageous and professional independent voices from Syria – working at great personal risk to support media and civic society inside the country to inform the world about this terrible conflict and keep hope alive for some kind of positive future.”
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, said in a statement: “It seems quite astonishing that the UK would accede to a request from a government whom it has only this week accused of being complicit in war crimes – especially when it is clear that the Syrian government is using tools, such as passport cancellations, to harass those who oppose or expose its behaviour."
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), said: “The precedent set by seizing Erhaim’s passport and the message it sends to oppressive governments around the world is alarming. In theory, any vicious regime could demand the return of a passport from any government merely by fraudulently claiming that the passport is stolen.”
Erhaim's work on Syria has been internationally recognised and she has helped train citizen journalists to report on the conflict within Aleppo. She is also well-known for making the 2015 documentary Syria’s Rebellious Women.