Political activist Kamal Labwani was interrogated yesterday at the criminal court in Damascus (Arabic. Elaph via Ahrar Syria, 5/11/06).
Labwani, the founder of the Liberal Democratic Gathering, was arrested in November of last year upon returning to Damascus from a tour in Europe and the US where he met with NSC officials. He is being tried on trumped up charges of inciting a foreign state to initiate aggression against Syria, as well as propagating false information abroad.
Labwani and his lawyers were not informed of the incitement charge, which was not leveled at Labwani prior to yesterday's questioning (the earlier charges were "diminishing the stature of the state and making statements that sap the nation's morale and weaken nationalist sentiment.") That drew an objection from his legal team who considered the charge illegal. Nevertheless, one of his lawyers Abdel Rahim Ghamazeh told Elaph that Labwani's spirits were high and that the questioning was calm albeit the charge was illegal.
Ghamazeh added that Labwani said that his visit to the US and Europe and his meeting with US officials was to defend the country as well as the Syrian citizens and their rights.
Another of Labwani's lawyers, Anwar al-Bunni, said that Labwani confirmed all the statements attributed to him from his appearances on Al-Hurra and Al-Mustaqilla stations (Arabic. AFP via Ahrar Syria, 5/12/06).
Labwani reportedly stressed that his words were nothing more than his political opinions that he has been proclaiming openly in Syria as well as abroad (Arabic. Levant News, 5/12/06). He reiterated his position which opposed any military action against Syria and his rejection of violence altogether. He also stressed his continued commitment to "democracy and the basic rights of citizens which appear in the contitution and the International Bill of Human Rights."
Labwani, who was imprisoned for three years in 2001, said that he returned to Syria voluntarily adding, "countries are not built on prisons, but on dialogue."
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