Salameh Kaileh, a prominent Palestinian writer, has said on Thursday that Syrian authorities deported him this week to Jordan after three weeks of detention and torture over his anti-regime writings.

"Syrian intelligence raided my house and arrested me on April 23. I was suddenly deported to Jordan on Monday after a three-week detention and torture," Kaileh said in Amman, Jordan's capital.

"They gave me no reason for their decision, but I know it was because I have written articles against the regime and about the revolt" that broke out 15 months ago against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Kaileh, 57, who holds a Jordanian passport, said he was hospitalised in Amman for bruises sustained during his detention.

"I was severely beaten on a daily basis. I passed out several times but this did not stop them from beating me more and more. I was prevented from using the toilet," he said.

"The interrogators kept asking in a very rude manner about leaflets under the name of Al-Yasari (The Leftist). I told them I had nothing to do with them because I write in newspapers."

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday distributed several photographs showing large bruises and burn marks on Kaileh's arms and legs.

Kaileh, born in Birzeit, West Bank, is a well-known leftist who has written books on subjects ranging from Marxism to Arab nationalism. He was imprisoned by the Syrian government in the 1990s for eight years.

[AFP]