Ma'en Al-Akel told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he was released a day earlier -- the same day Syrian President Bashar Assad declared an amnesty freeing prisoners convicted of minor crimes.

The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria said the 45-year-old Al-Akel was never charged.

Al-Akel was known for writing articles in private and state-run newspapers that were critical of corruption in the government. He was a political prisoner from 1987-1994 for being a member of the outlawed Syrian Communist Party.