The Syria Monitor

Health of Detained Activists Deteriorating (5/30)

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (a network of nine Syrian and Kurdish rights organizations launched last month) said in a statement released yesterday that Anwar al-Bunni and a number of the prisoners of conscience arrested recently were suffering health problems. (Arabic. Al-Mustaqbal, 5/30/06).

The statement added "Bunni runs the risk of a total health collapse due to the hunger strike he has been on to protest his unjust detention. In addition to Bunni, the statement mentioned the case of Dr. Aref Dalilah, in prison since 2001, who suffers from heart problems and activists Mahmoud Sarem and Mohammed Ghanem who were arrested a few months ago for their involvement in human rights and civil society work.

Reports have said that Bunni's state is now critical, and his physical appearance has deteriorated markedly, as he is turning pale and has dark circles around his eyes. His heart condition is also said to have suffered (Arabic. Hurriyat, via "Free Syria," 5/28/06). The Follow-Up Committee for the Cases of Detainees and Exiles warned the Syrian authorities in a statement that Bunni's life is now in danger. It held the Syrian government fully responsible for any harm that may befall him and for the beating and abuse he suffered on the first day of his detention.

Bunni's brother Akram recently visited him in prison and told Ferry Biedermann of the Financial Times, "You would not recognise him now. He is pale and even skinnier than usual." Akram has not been able to convince his brother to give up the hunger strike. Akram went on to say that he is convinced that the Beirut-Damascus statement was just a pretext for the government to arrest his brother. The week before, Anwar had been stripped of his licence to practise law and in March the authorities closed down his recently opened human rights centre that was largely funded by the EU. (FT, 5/29/06).

The prison authorities have been complicating visits to Bunni. Last week (5/23), they denied a visit from Bunni's family as well as a defense lawyer and a delegation from the Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights, who also wanted to visit two other Beirut-Damascus Declaration (BDD) detainees, Mahmoud Mer'i and Khalil Hussein. (Arabic. Arab Network for Human Rights Information, 5/23/06).

Lawyer Khalil Maatouq of the National Organization for Human Rights told Elaph that now all visits must have the approval of the First Attorney General in Damascus. He added that the prison administration has denied the detainees' lawyers from visiting them four times in a row. On Sunday, visits were denied to Michel Kilo, as well as to Bunni and Mer'i. (Arabic. 5/28/06).

Meanwhile, Fateh Jamous' daughter was able to visit him on Sunday, but told Elaph that he is still sleeping on the cell floor and is still being denied a bed and covers.

A delegation of the Lebanese signatories to the BDD visited the UN headquarters in Beirut and submitted a letter to the UN Secretary General urging him to interfere by "taking all the necessary and urgent steps to protect the lives of the Syrian signatories" in order for them to be set free "immediately, without any restrictions or financial punishments or burdens." They called on Annan to deal with the behavior of the Syrian authorities as he sees fit in accordance with the charter of the United Nations. (Arabic. "Free Syria," 5/28/06).

The National Salvation Front had also written to Kofi Annan urging him to interfere in order to end the Syrian regime's repressive policies. (Arabic. LBCI News, 5/19/06).

Security Forces Harrassing Signatories of Declaration (5/30)

The crackdown against the Syrian signatories of the Beirut-Damascus Declaration continues. Elaph reported that on Sunday, the Syrian security forces summoned Dr. Hazem Nahar, a member of the Committees for the Revival of Civil Society in Syria (CRCSS), and held him for interrogation, without food or water, from 11AM to 10PM, at which time he was let go (Arabic. 5/28/06).

Nahar told Elaph, "the security forces conducted an official interrogation about the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, and they had one demand, which is for me to pull my name from the Declaration. My reply was negative, and that I was convinced by the Declaration, which is why I signed it, and I don't find anything in it that harms Syria or Lebanon." Nahar is banned from travelling, and emailed his signature to the Declaration.

Nahar added that the authorities focused also on the timing of the Declaration (coinciding with UN resolution 1680) and whether the anti-Assad "March 14" coalition and Lebanese MPs Saad Hariri and Walid Jumblat were behind it. According to Nahar, the security forces believed that the timing of the Declaration was planned to be in harmony with UNSCR 1680 against Syria.

Writer Fayez Sarah, also a member of the CRCSS, told Elaph that the summoning and detention of Nahar is a dangerous indication that the campaign against activists will continue at a time when it was hoped that it would end and the prisoners would be set free.

Elaph cited leaks that mere signatories might be set free, but those who helped prepare and formulate the Declaration will remain in jail.

In related news, ME Transparent published a petition, signed by 91 intellectuals from the Suwayda district in Syria, supporting the Beirut-Damascus Declaration and condeming the arrests of some of its signatories. (Arabic. 5/25/06).

Another incident of harrassment of human rights activists was the sentencing of Haitham Maleh, former president of the Committee for Human Rights in Syria, to 10 days in prison for "defaming a public official." (Arabic. ME Transparent, 5/26/06). Maleh was also under a travel ban.

Ferry Biedermann of the Financial Times had spoken to Maleh and wrote in a piece published yesterday, "Mr Maleh, like many other observers of the situation in Syria, speculates that the government is cracking down on dissidents, first of all because it feels that it now has an opportunity to do so while the international priorities lie elsewhere - notably Iran and Iraq. And also, says Mr Maleh, because the government is worried about what the report of the UN investigation into the Hariri assassination will bring. Interim reports have implicated senior Syrian intelligence officials. Another report is due on June 15 and the government may wish to silence domestic critics before publication." (FT, 5/29/06).

NSF Conference Next Week (5/29)

The National Salvation Front (NSF) declared that it will be holding a conference in London on June 4-5 in order to put forward its plan of action for peaceful regime change in Syria (Arabic. AFP via Elaph, 5/29/06).

A source close to Abdel Halim Khaddam told AFP that the conference "will include, alongside former VP Abdel Halim Khaddam and the head of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood Ali Sadreddine al-Bayanouni, fifty Syrian opposition figures living outside Syria and belonging maily to Kurdish parties, Communists, and independents." No figures or parties from the opposition inside Syria will take part in the conference.

The Front will decide in the conference on a "comperhensive plan of action" to peacfeully change the regime in Syria, according to the same source. The source added that "the month of June will be an important stop," pointing out that the London conference "will take place a few days before the head of the [UN] International Investigative Commission into the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri submits his report to the Security Council in mid-June."

Report on the 5/23 Paris Rally (5/29)

Elaph reported on the rally held in Paris, which was called for by the Committee for Syrian National Democratic Action (a Europe-based group of Syrian intellectuals and activists) on May 23 in solidarity with Syrian political detainees (Arabic. 5/24/06).

According to the report, many Arab, Iranian, French, and Italian political representatives, intellectual figures, and human rights activists participated in the rally as well and raised banners calling for the release of the various political detainees and calling for freedom for the Syrian people and democracy in Syria.

Professor and dissident Dr. Burhan Ghalyoun gave a short speech at the event, and so did representatives from the French Communist Party and the French Socialist Party. A representative from the Lebanese Democratic Left also gave a speech on behalf of the party and the Lebanese intellectuals in which he called for a free democratic Syria alongside an independent democratic Lebanon. (The speech was published by ME Transparent [Arabic. 5/24/06]).

Planned Rallies in Beirut and London (5/26)

On June 2, there will be a sit-in in Beirut to mark the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese journalist and activist Samir Qassir. (Arabic. AKI, 5/25/06). The sit-in, according to AKI, is being organized by Lebanese intellectuals as well as media, human rights, and civil society organizations.

The gathering will also be an act of solidarity with jailed Syrian intellectuals and activists Michel Kilo, Anwar al-Bunni, Fateh Jamous, Ali Abdallah and his sons, Aref Dalilah, and all other detainees. Qassir had close ties with Syrian dissident intellectuals and activists who he helped publish in the leading Lebanese daily An-Nahar. His assassination last year is widely viewed as the work of the Syrian regime.

The Lebanese Democratic Left organized a rally on May 23 in front of the UN headquarters in Beirut to commemorate Qassir's death and to express solidarity with Syrian political prisoners.

AKI also reported that Syrian dissidents are organizing a sit-in in front of the Syrian embassy in London on June 1 to express solidarity with the prisoners of conscience in Syria, and to mark the one-year memorial of the assassination of Kurdish Sheikh Muhammad Maashouq al-Khaznawi.

The secretary general of the London-based Syrian Democratic Current, Muhyiddine al-Ladqani, clarified that the participants will be members of various human rights organizations and political movements from the Syrian community in London. They will demand the establishment of "an independent investigative commission into the murder of Sheikh Khaznawi, who was assassinated by the Syrian regime," and they will protest "the Syrian authorities' crackdown targeting Syrian intellectuals," who have signed the Beirut-Damascus Declaration. They will also call for the release of all prisoners of conscience and opinion, and for the ending the series of arrests, assassinations, and targeting of civil society and human rights activists." He also threatened to besiege Syrian embassies all over Europe with peaceful sit-ins.

Upcoming Solidarity Rally in Paris (5/26)

AKI reports that the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) has called for a sit-in next Saturday in the Human Rights Square in Paris to call for the release of prisoners of conscience in Syria (Arabic. AKI via "Free Syria," 5/25/06). The spokesman for the AOHR, Dr. Haitham al-Manna', praised the declaration by 32 Arab and European NGOs that they would participate in the sit-in.

"Saturday's sit-in in Paris is part of a series of activities in Europe aimed at calling on European and international Human Rights organizations to put an end to arbitrary detentions in Syria and the Arab world," Manna' said.

According to Manna', there has also been contact with the European Parliament, part of an effort to persuade it to pass a resolution condemning arbitrary arrests in Syria. Similarly, there has been contact with organizations concerned with the defense and protection of journalists, since many of the Syrian detainees are journalists.

The AOHR had launched an international petition calling for the release of all prisoners of conscience and condemning "systematic repression" by the Syrian regime. It labeled the latest wave of arrests "part of the dictatorial and totalitarian policy of the regime [which includes]:  systematic abuse of freedoms and human rights, extra-judicial and arbitrary arrests, torturing, terrorizing, and mock trials." The petition mentioned the names of the detainees like Michel Kilo, Fateh Jamous and Anwar al-Bunni, along with other imprisoned activists such as Aref Dalilah, Ali Abdallah, Nizar Rastanawi, and Riad Drar.

Opposition Action In Europe, Wide Condemnation of the Regime (5/23)

The Committee for Syrian National Democratic Action in Europe called for a gathering tonight in front of the Institut du Monde Arabe in solidarity with democracy and human rights activists and to protest the Syrian regime's crackdown on freedom of expression, and to pressure the regime to free all political prisoners, abolish emergency laws in effect since 1963, and respect international human rights treaties (Arabic. Elaph, 5/23/06).

Various intellectuals, academics, and civil society activists supported the idea and many prominent figures, such as Professor Burhan Ghalyoun and the prominent Lebanese-Syrian poet Adonis, announced they will participate. Also, representatives from the French Communist, Socialist and Green parties, as well as representatives from the Lebanese Democratic Left party, said they would attend.

A statement by the Committee called on the Syrian people and Arab, French and international democractic forces to move quickly with all available means to end this situation in Syria and support the Syrian people in its battle for freedom, and called for democracy in Syria.

In turn, the Lebanese Democratic Left announced a sit-in in Beirut tonight in solidarity with the prisoners of conscience in Syria (Arabic. AKI, 5/22/06). It said in a statement, "this latest wave is but an example that confirms the method of the authoritarian Syrian regime in dealing with any blossoming democratic movement in Syria and even in Lebanon," adding that the Lebanese people "will remain the first supporter of the Syrian people deprived of their most basic civil rights."

A number of Lebanese politicians, intellectuals and journalists had issued calls for the release of the detainees, and Lebanese papers were filled with columns and opinion pieces condemning the arrests and expressing solidarity with the detainees. (Statements by Lebanese and Syrian figures and organizations condemning the arrest of Michel Kilo and others and calling for the release of prisoners of conscience can be seen here, here, and here. [Arabic. ME Transparent, May 15, 16, and 17 respectively.])

Also, ten Syrian and Arab human rights organizations issued an international petition condemning "the dictatorial and totalitarian policy of the ruling regime," and asking for the release of the detained intellectuals and activists and for "the lifting of the state of emergency, abolishing extraordinary courts, the return of Syrian exiles to their homeland, and the establishment of a consitutional democratic state with rule of law." (Arabic. AKI, 5/22/06). Jordanian journalists, activists, and intellectuals also condemned the regime's crackdown and arrest of dissidents and intellectuals. (Arabic. Ahrar Syria, 5/18/06).

Human Rights Watch had also condemned the campaign and called for the immediate release of the detainees. The organization's deputy director for the ME and North Africa division said that the arrest of respected critics like Bunni and Kilo "shows that the Syrian government has no interest in peaceful homegrown reform."

The EU's presidency also issued a statement (PDF file) condemning the arrests. The Syrian government quickly and strongly rejected the statement, calling it blatant interference in Syrian domestic affairs. It filed a protest with the ambassarods ot the EU Commission and Austria (which currently holds the EU presidency). Syria's information minister even said during a meeting with the Danish ambassador that Syria was "an example to be followed" when it comes to citizens' rights (Arabic. "Free Syria," 5/23/06).

In related news, a spokesman from the Europe-based opposition group "Rally for Syria" told Elaph that this negative attitude towards the EU  will only increase the regime's isolation (Arabic. 5/22/06). Fahd al-Masri added that the Rally will ask through EU MPs for the recalling of European ambassadors and for the freezing of diplomatic relations with Syria. He also said that a legal suit will be filed against the Syrian regime for their crimes against the Syrian people. The suit will be filed with the French courts, the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, and the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Syrian analyst Ammar Abdulhamid also called for recalling ambassadors in a post on his weblog.

The Rally has been engaged in efforts to reach out to members of the EU parliament and to lobby for support for the rights of the Syrian people and the ending of human rights abuses and emergency laws in Syria. (Arabic. Elaph via "Free Syria," 5/19/06). Various anonymous EU MPs and diplomats were quoted as saying that they want the UN and the EU to follow the UN resolutions against the Syrian regime with firm action ensuring their application so as not to render them tootheless, thereby exposing dissidents in Syria and the fragile Lebanese government to retaliation from the regime (Arabic. With Agencies, via "Free Syria," 5/20/06).

Bunni Accused of Overthrow Plot (5/23)

Head of the Syrian Organization for Human Rights (SOHR) Abdel Karim Rihawi told UPI today that human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni "was accused of belonging to a secret organization planning to topple President Bashar Assad's regime."

He said the charge was not directed against other detained rights activists, "a matter that raises our deep concerns."

Rihawi quoted an official source as telling him that the accused will be convicted of the charges filed against them, but will be released later by a special pardon from President Assad.

It was first reported that Bunni, along with nine other signatories to the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, was being charged with "inciting sectarian conflict, undermining the state, disseminating false news, and defamation." Some of the charges could carry a life sentence if he is convicted.

Bunni on Hunger Strike, Detainees Charged (5/22)

AKI reported that human rights sources in Syria have confirmed that activist Anwar al-Bunni has been on a hunger strike since his arrest last Wednesday despite efforts by fellow activists to dissuade him (Arabic. 5/22/06). Bunni's lawyers have also confirmed that he has been subjected to beatings along with two other detainees held after signing a joint declaration (the "Beirut-Damascus Declaration") with Lebanese intellectuals. Amnesty International named Nidal Darwish as one of those who were beaten during interrogation. Darwish was arrested last Tuesday along with Mahmoud Mer'i, in the ongoing campaign against the signatories of the declaration (Arabic. ME Transparent, 5/17/06).

Levant News also reported that on Monday, a group of lawyers and former detainees paid a visit to the ten detainees who are signatories to the Beirut-Damascus Declaration (BDD), as well as to Ali Abdallah and his son Muhammad, Fateh Jamous and Kamal Labwani, all of whom are being held at the Adra prison near Damascus (Arabic. 5/23/06). The detainees spoke of their harsh conditions, where they are being placed with criminal prisoners, and not political ones, yet they are being denied the privileges afforded even to criminal prisoners.

They told the lawyers that they have no beds, mattresses, or blankets and have been sleeping on the cell floor. Furthermore, they asserted that other prisoners have been instructed not to offer or even sell them anything, be it blankets or any other necessities, and have even forbidden inmates from speaking to them under threat of retribution. One prisoner was said to have been thrown in solitary confinement for lending a blanket to Fateh Jamous, while another was threatened for exchanging greetings with him. Nevertheless, lawyers said their morale was very high. Earlier reports spoke of Ali Abdallah's son Muhammad being forced to sign false testimonies under duress (Arabic. Elaph, 5/15/06).

The detainees were also allowed  to sit all together with the lawyers. However, Ammar Qurabi of the National Organization for Human Rights told Levant News, "it is clear that prison is now the only place where the opposition is allowed to meet."

The cases of the charged detained signatories to the BDD were added to that of Michel Kilo who was the first among them to be arrested. At first, Kilo was referred to the judiciary without knowing what the charges against him were (Arabic. AKI, 5/16/05). The charges were then revealed: "weakening nationalist sentiment" and "inciting sectarian conflict" as well as "undermining the state," "disseminating false news" and "defamation." Some of the charges could carry a life sentence. At the very least, he is facing a year according to a law that prohibits participation in any political or social grouping "of an international character" without permission, which carries a sentence of 3 months to 3 years (Arabic. Levant News, 5/17/06). The judge handling the case levelled the same charges against the remaining BDD detainees at their interrogation session (Arabic. An-Nahar via "Free Syria," 5/22/06). Ammar Qurabi was quoted as saying that his organization (NOHR) "would provide a large number of lawyers to defend these detainees which the organization considers prisoners of conscience."

Here are the names of the BDD detainees who have been charged: Ghaleb Ammar, Anwar al-Bunni,  Nidal Darwish, Khalil Hussein, Mahmoud Issa, Michel Kilo, Muhammad Mahfoud, Mahmoud Mer'i, Suleiman al-Shammar, and Safwan Tayfour. On Saturday, another signatory, Fayez Sarah, was summoned for questioning (Arabic. Elaph, 5/20/06).  Three others, Abbas Abbas, Khaled Khalifeh, and Kamal Sheikho, were released after being briefly detained (Asia News, 5/23/06).

Anwar al-Bunni Arrested (5/17)

Syrian security forces arrested prominent human rights lawyer and activist Anwar al-Bunni earlier today (Reuters, 5/17/06). The arrest comes as part of a large wave of arrests of several activists (Arabic. Levant News, 5/17/06), including prominent political activist and writer, Michel Kilo, who was detained three days ago. Bunni had come out in condemnation of Kilo's arrest.

The apparent reason for the arrests is a joint declaration signed by 274 Lebanese and Syrian intellectuals which calls, among other things, for a correction of Syrian-Lebanese relations and the recognition of Lebnon's sovereignty and independence, starting with demarcating the borders and exchanging embassies with Lebanon (Arabic. ME Transparent, 5/11/06). Both Bunni and Kilo were signatories to the declaration, called The Beirut-Damascus/Damascus-Beirut Declaration.

Yesterday, two other signatories, human rights lawyer and activist Nidal Darwish and secretary general of the Arab Organization for Human Rights Mahmoud Mer'i, were also arrested. And then today, Mahmoud Issa (former detainee, Communist activist), Safwan Tayfour (activist), Khalil Hussein (Kurdish Future Current), and Khaled Khalifeh, were all arrested, and all are signatories, although there seems to have been a case of mistaken identity with Khalifeh; a writer with the same name did sign the declaration (AFP, 5/17/06). There are also summons for Suleiman al-Shammar (political activist) and Kamal Sheikho (human rights activist), both of whom are signatories to the declaration.

Bunni's wife told Elaph that the arrest was made outside the house, as Bunni was opening his car door (Arabic. 5/17/06). His brother Akram, himself an activist and a signatory to the declaration who had just returned from Madrid, added that the arrest was more like a kidnapping, as the security forces did not summon Bunni. Instead, they staked him outside his house, and as he tried to open his car door, they rushed him and took him away screaming.

Bunni's arrest was preceded by having his license to practice law revoked for up to four years last week (Financial Times, 5/15/06). In March, the regime also shut down the (mainly EU-funded) human rights center that he led. He is also the spokesman for the Hurriyat center (National Center for the Defense of the Freedom of Journalists and the Press in Syria) headed by Michel Kilo.

The Elaph report noted that some Syrian officials are referring to the Beirut-Damascus Declaration as the "March 14th Declaration," in reference to the anti-regime coalition, which holds the majority in Lebanon's parliament and cabinet and which has been making similar calls as those of the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, and has appealed to the UN Security Council to pressure Syria on these points. This led to the introduction of a draft resolution, sponsored by the US, France, and Britain, calling on Syria to fully recognize Lebanon's independence by demarcating the borders and exchanging embassies with its neighbor, and to cease interference in its internal affairs. The resolution passed today by a majority of 13 votes, with Russia and China abstaining.

The comparison with the March 14th coalition is telling and suggests, as Bahia Mardini notes, that discussing Syrian-Lebanese relations, or rather, holding positions that go against the regime's line on this issue, is now a new prohibited red line in Syria (Arabic. Elaph, 5/17/06). Political analyst Michael Young agrees: "The Syrian regime was no doubt sending a domestic message that that link between the Syrian opposition and their comrades across the border must cease."

Ammar Abdulhamid commented on the wave of arrests on his blog, noting its timing (as the UN Security Council was discussing the draft resolution): "one thing is becoming clear: the Assad regime is throwing the glove in the face of the international community and all its resolutions." He added, "unless an explicit message is sent to the Assads to the effect that such confrontational policies will only serve to increase their international isolation, the crackdown against activists will continue and could easily escalate to include all notable opposition figures in the country."