Independent journalism has been virtually nonexistent since the regime's eradication of political opposition in the early 1980s.
Authorities maintain tight control over the dissemination of news and information through the media.
The Ministry of Information closely supervises the country's state-run dailies and broadcast media, and provides strict content guidelines for editors and journalists. State controls also extend to foreign newspapers, as authorities continued to censor the few foreign publications allowed into the country. Because of the state's monopoly over domestic media, increasing numbers of Syrians rely on satellite dishes to access foreign news programming. Nayyouf, who is serving a 10-year sentence in solitary confinement in Mezze military prison, is gravely ill and may die unless he receives immediate treatment for Hodgkins disease.