The Syria Monitor

Kilo and Issa Sentenced to Three Years

Dissidents Michel Kilo and Mahmoud Issa were sentenced today to three years in prison each for "weakening national sentiment, spreading false news, and inciting sectarian strife." (Arabic. Elaph, 5/13/07).

Two other dissidents, Suleiman Shammar and Khalil Hussein, who have been in hiding for months, were sentenced in absentia to ten years each; Five for weakening national sentiment, and five for inciting a foreign state to attack Syria.

The four dissidents, are signatories to the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, a joint document by hundreds of Lebanese and Syrian intellectuals calling for the rectification of bilateral relations through the respect of Lebanese sovereignty and independence, delineation of borders, exchange of embassies, and abiding by UN resolutions.

Kilo and Issa were arrested in May 2006 along with a number of other signatories to the declaration some of whom have since been released. Another signatory, Anwar Bunni, was sentenced on April 24 to five years. And with these verdicts, the Beirut-Damascus Declaration file was closed.

The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria (NOHR-S) condemned the sentence as politically motivated, since the charges have no legal standing. Dissidents in Syria were fearful that after the rough sentences against Bunni and Kamal Labwani, Kilo would also get a harsh sentence. (Arabic. Elaph, 5/11/07). Labwani was sentenced to twelve years on Thursday. The White House has condemned both sentences.

Six detained leading opposition figures warned earlier this month that the "repressive climate" in the country was worsening and called for the release of all political prisoners. (AFP, 5/1/07). The statement was published in the Lebanese daily An-Nahar on May 1 and signed by Kilo, Issa, Bunni, Labwani, Faeq al-Mir, and Aref Dalilah, who has been detained since 2001 and is serving a ten year term.

The six opposition figures called for "solidarity" with rights activists jailed in Syria, which has been under a state of emergency ever since the Baath party seized power in 1963.

"The Syrian people are paying a heavy price in order to obtain their rights, and we hope that we are the last payment of this expensive price in order for the Syrians to regain their freedoms," they said.

Labwani Sentenced to 12 Years

Dissident Kamal Labwani, head of the Liberal Democratic Gathering, was sentenced today to life in prison, commuted to 12 years with labor, for "inciting a foreign state to attack Syria." (Arabic. AKI, 5/10/07).

Labwani was arrested upon arrival at Damascus airport on 8 November 2005. He was returning from a trip to Europe and the USA where he met human rights organizations and government officials and called for democratic reform in Syria, including in an interview on al-Hurra.

Labwani, a physician, did not speak when the judge handed down the sentence, and only raised his fist in the air upon imposing sentencing. (AP. 5/10/07). "It is too much," whispered Labwani's wife, Samar, adding that the sentence was a political one.

This is the second time Labwani has been sentenced to jail. He was first sentenced to three years when the regime cracked down on the so-called "Damascus Spring" movement in 2001.

His sentencing follows another in recent days against Anwar al-Bunni, a human rights lawyer, who received a five-year prison sentence, signaling a continuing of a crackdown by authorities against dissent. (AI, 4/27/07). Michel Kilo and Mahmoud Issa, signatories of the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, will receive their sentence on Sunday.

Amnesty International had called for the release of Labwani, Kilo, Bunni and Issa in a recent statement. And the Syrian Human Rights Monitor commented on the sentence in a statement: "We consider the verdict to be political par excellence, especially since it was handed down while President Assad was addressing the new parliament, which reflects the worrisome direction that the Syrian authorities are pursuing against those who oppose them." (Arabic. Elaph, 5/10/07). Human Rights Watch also noted that "[f]rom the onset, Labwani’s trial was marred by the interference of the state security agencies." (HRW, 5/11/07).

Nadim Houri, a Syria researcher with Human Rights Watch, commented on the verdict saying, "The crackdown is continuing and there is really no sign of it abating. ... Clearly, Syrian authorities have no intention of opening up any space for political reform, and I think what we're seeing today is another symbol of the peaceful opposition to the Assad regime being punished for their views." He also urged the international community to stand up for Syrian activists. (AP. 5/10/07).

Another dissident, former MP Ma'moun Homsi, who has left Syria, had his assets seized by the regime, with the purpose of pressuring him and his family. Homsi had revealed in a recent interview on the liberal Arabic website Aafaq, that he had sent a letter to Sen. Nancy Pelosi asking her not to come to Damascus. (Arabic. Aafaq, 4/30/07).

Some dissidents in Syria are said to have linked the harsh sentence against Bunni to the recent Congressional visits to Damascus, which emboldened the regime to crack down even more.

“Syrian officials repeatedly claim that their country wants to play a constructive role in the region,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW. “But this is hard to believe as they continue to imprison peaceful dissidents at home.”  

Damascus Declaration: People Boycotted Elections

The Damascus Declaration (DD) grouping, the largest opposition umbrella gathering, said that the Syrian people "turned their faces away" from the parliamentary elections held last week. It also considered the statements made by regime officials, accusing the opposition of treason and collaboration, as reflecting "tension and anxiety." (Arabic. AKI, 4/27/07).

The gathering was referring to the statements made by the Minister of Expatriate Affairs, Buthaina Shaaban, who accused the opposition of collaborating with foreign forces, namely the US. Shaaban then threatened that "the fate of all those who collaborate against their country is well known." (AP, 4/22/07).

The DD's statement added that the Syrian people responded appropriately to these statements by boycotting the elections. (Arabic. ME Transparent, 4/27/07).

The grouping, which includes more than 20 organizations and various individuals, said that the voting process revealed "direct intervention to handpick independents by fielding so-called shadow lists." It also accused the authorities of "interference in counting the votes," and of "pressuring the candidates, and forbidding any political programmes."

The DD also revealed that there were pressures on public sector employees and college students "threatening to expel them from dorms in order to force them to vote."

The grouping added that the Syrian people turned their backs to the "elections theater," and thus "confirmed the correctness of the opposition's decision to boycott these sham elections." It also called for "a real and serious revision of the entire political and legal situation that governs the country and which entrenches the hegemony of a repressive and corrupt authority."

Former MP Riad Seif's Experience in Parliament

Former independent MP Riad Seif, who was one of the leaders of the brief Damascus Spring movement, and who served five years in jail as a result, wrote about his experience as an MP in a lengthy article in the Lebanese daily al-Safir. (Arabic. 4/18/07).

The news service MideastWire translated the following excerpt:

My Experience in the People's Assembly: Delusions of Democracy under Tyranny

“On the margins of the elections which will take place in Syria soon, I found it necessary and useful to publish my personal experience in the People’s Assembly [Syrian parliament] and what I went through and suffered because of my attempts to defend the rights of the people and the concept of a developed, flourishing country free of oppression and corruption in the hope that this might help all those wishing to take on public office… Success in my experience in industry was the primary and most important motive for entering the field of politics and running in the elections for the parliament in 1994.”

Sayf added: “This success in industry started with a workshop for manufacturing shirts in 1963 to building the New Adidas Company in 1993 after I got the franchise from the international Adidas Corporation which was the first of its kind in Syria. The production of this factory covered the needs of the market in Syria and was exported to all over the world, especially the European Union carrying the international Adidas trademark with the term “made in Syria”. This industrial activity provided more than 1600 hundred jobs. I made sure that operations went on smoothly in a developed atmosphere permeated with the spirit of teamwork and cooperation as the company provided its employees with top salaries as well as excellent services including meals, social care, children care, healthcare, swimming pools, and entertainment through plays…”

Sayf continued: “My hope was that if I managed to become an MP, I would generalize this experience throughout the productive and service segments in Syria through the legislative authority which is supposed to unite all the patriots and supervise the workings of the government and state institutions. I was encouraged by the wishes of some of my friends and those knowledgeable about my industrial experience especially as the authorities had launched a campaign back then full of promises of implementing reform which would start after the parliamentary elections in the knowledge that I had never before paid any attention to the elections because of my belief that they were only for appearance’s sake and their results were known beforehand…On the election day, 2000 young men and women volunteers from the company, family, and friends spread across the electoral centers proving their enthusiasm…”

Sayf added: “I was woken the day following the elections by the noise of those coming to congratulate me and tell me that I got the highest result among the independent candidates. That moment was the most important turning point in my life and I pledged to myself that I would remain loyal to the trust given to me by the sons of Damascus. I started preparing for my mission by dedicating my main office in downtown Damascus for the activities related to my new job helped by a cadre that would aid me in gathering information and preparing reports. My efforts throughout the first period as a member of the people’s council in 1994-1998 were focused on calling for economic and financial reform, removing the obstacles hindering the revival of national industry, and restoring the balance between salaries and costs, and focusing on fighting corruption which I consider to be the source of all evils and the number one cause for all the failures and catastrophes that befell and are still afflicting the Syrian people.”

Sayf added: “Back then, I hadn’t discovered the truth that corruption is a natural result of tyranny and its legitimate offspring. Thus I entered into a Don-Quixotic and completely unequal battle with the government and the mafias of corruption which ended naturally in my defeat and my exit from my position at the end of the term having lost all that I had earned throughout my life and laden with taxes and debts, some of them artificial and some exuberant, as well as my extreme loss with the death of my son Iyad (21 years old) in mysterious and suspicious circumstances on August 2, 1996. My four year experience in the parliament taught me that here this authority is not linked to legislating or monitoring the executive branch or holding it accountable as any legislative authority is supposed to do or as is the case in the parliaments of the civilized world.”

Sayf continued: “This parliament’s role was restricted to the formalities or adding a cosmetic touch to the whole process that would make the regime appear in a democratic guise to the Syrian public and the world especially in the presence of the 1973 constitution which gives the president the right to issue legislation whenever he wants. All the laws suggested by the government were passed routinely after allowing some space for the MPs to discuss it for appearance’s sake without allowing them to introduce any amendment to their content. More often than not, the discussions were prefabricated by the speaker as if we were in a theatre rehearsing a play with a crew of talented speech makers experienced in deluding the media all coming from the Ba’th party or the parties of the national progressive front thus robbing the vote of any true meaning.”

Sayf added: “If any of the new members wanted to fly outside the flock and insisted on going against the flow, he would be brought back to the “correct” path either through incentives if available or through terrorization and punishments if necessary. Here was my problem with the assembly and the government. My suffering started with the protests by the finance ministry against my first ever participation on the 15th of November 1994 and continued with repeated interruptions by the speaker and ministers of most of my participations which I presented until the finance minister started imposing exuberant taxes on me. I accepted back then an invitation by the head of the finance department in Damascus who told me on the phone that he has news that will please me a lot. In that meeting, he started talking by reminding me that we were from the same neighbourhood and then announced that he wanted to help me by mediating with the finance minister “so he would get off my back”. He ad ded: “some criticism is ok and I will alert you to the points that you can criticize as I did with you colleagues in the council; then after the end of the budgetary session I will arrange a meeting for you with the minister”…”

Measures Against Anwar Bunni (2/19)

In an unprecedented move, the Syrian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has declared before the criminal court its intention to criminalize activist lawyer Anwar Bunni and then to present the ruling, once it comes out, to the Ministry of the Interior in order to strip Bunni of his citizenship, according to reports in AKI (Arabic, 2/19/07) and Elaph (Arabic, 2/18/07).

The Ministry, which called for the maximum sentence, also demanded compensation for all the sums received by Bunni from the EU Commission, as director of the (partially EU-funded) center for human rights which he opened in Syria and which the Syrian authorities shut down a week after its opening.

This took place in his trial session yesterday (Sunday, 2/18), which was attended by Western diplomats as well as activists and lawyers. He was charged with "spreading false news that weaken the spirit of the nation." His trial was postponed until March 11.

Bunni has been detained since May 2006 for signing the Beirut-Damascus Declaration and for his numerous statements to the media regarding human rights violations in Syria.

Bunni (along with other prisoners of opinion) was repeatedly abused in prison, as he was placed in the criminal ward and assaulted by common criminals, in the presence of the prison guards and with the knowledge of the prison administration, and at times even beaten by prison guards.

According to a 1967 decree, a citizen could be stripped of citizenship, following a justified proposal by a minister, if, e.g., s/he was in the service of a foreign state, or if s/he held activities for a country at war with Syria.

This measure is in line with the position set by Bashar Assad against Bunni and Michel Kilo. In various interviews, (Spanish. El Pais, 10/1/06) Assad has repeatedly declared that there were no political prisoners, only criminals who have broken the law and collaborated with Syria's enemies.

Kamal Labwani Physically Abused (11/7)

The Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported in a press release that political prisoner Kamal Labwani was assaulted in the Adra prison where he is detained. (Arabic. Elaph, 11/4/06).

The statement said that Labwani was beaten and verbally abused by a criminal inmate at the behest of the security services. It added that Labwani filed a complaint which was ignored by the prison authorities.

Labwani's family confirmed the assault took place and held the prison authorities responsible. (Arabic. Levant News, 11/3/06). The family also reiterated its request to separate political prisoners from criminals. The prison authorities had placed Labwani in the violent crimes ward, and had placed Anwar Bunni in the robberies ward, while Michel Kilo and the recently re-arrested Mahmoud Issa are placed in the prostitution ward. This practice of placing political prisoners with criminals has been common. It was done, for instance, to Fateh Jamous who was also beaten by inmate thugs.

Human rights sources confirm that the authorities instruct criminals to attack political prisoners in order to pressure them and crush their spirits. (Arabic. TSDP, 11/3/06). It is often dubbed "torture by proxy." It is a practice also used outside prison, where thugs are sent out to beat up dissidents at rallies. 

Bunni, Issa, Kilo and Labwani had launched a week-long hunger strike, which ended on 11/4, to protest rights violations in Syria, including continued political imprisonment, torture of detainees, subversion of the judiciary, and stifling of freedom of speech and opinion. (Arabic. Elaph, 11/4/06). The detainees said the assault on Labwani and the reversal of the judicial order to release Kilo cause them to worry about their situation and lives in prison. Yet they still called for unifying efforts to maintain pressure on the regime.

Labwani, who is being charged of contacting a foreign state in order to incite aggression against Syria, also penned a letter from prison defending himself and attacking authoritarian rule in Syria and calling for democratic change. (Arabic. ME Transparent, 11/1/06).

In another act of defiance, the detainees hailed the sentencing of Saddam Hussein as a precedent for holding dictators accountable in the Arab world, despite expressing reservation over the death penalty. (Arabic. Al-Mustaqbal, 11/7/06). Anwar Bunni told AKI that the sentencing marks the first time in the Arab world that a dictator was held accountable by the people for his crimes. He added, "it would not be the last." (Arabic. AKI, 11/7/06). He also told Reuters that this presented "the last chance for all to respect human rights before it was too late," in a direct jab against the Syrian regime. Similarly, Labwani was quoted as saying "these rulings confirm the nearness of the day when all [dictators] will be tried, no matter their rank, for the crimes they committed against their people."

An international tribunal is currently being set up to try suspects in the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and other Lebanese politicians and journalists. The reports of the UN investigation have implicated the Syrian regime in the killings.

The Kilo Fiasco (11/6)

On October 19, reports came out that Beirut-Damascus Declaration (BDD) signatory, Michel Kilo, would be released on bail, leaving Anwar al-Bunni and Ali Shehabi as the last two signatories still in detention. (Arabic. AKI, 10/19/06). Bunni is reportedly facing charges of contacting enemy sides and belonging to an organization of an international character without government permission, as well as disseminating false news. (Arabic. Elaph, 10/9/06).

However, it quickly became apparent that Kilo was not going to be released. His family confirmed that despite the judge's signature on the release request and the payment of the bail, Kilo remained in jail. (Arabic. Elaph, 10/20/06). Rumors began circulating that the Syrian authorities would not allow Kilo's release. (Arabic. Elaph, 10/21/06). It then came out that there was clear political interference in the judicial order. (Arabic. Elaph, 10/21/06). One report claimed that, based on information from the Syrian Human Rights Observatory, "a prominent figure from the first rank of the Syrian regime" flagrantly interfered in order to prevent Kilo's release. (Arabic. Elaph, 10/22/06).

It is worth noting that Kilo's lawsuit against a regime-hired pen (Arabic. Elaph, 8/26/06), who accused him of receiving money and operational directions from an anti-Syrian Lebanese Minister to support terrorist acts in Syria (Arabic. AKI, 7/25/06), was also rejected after alleged interference from the office of Maher Assad, the President's brother, who is close to the journalist in question. (Arabic. Levant News, 9/29/06).

Political interference soon became manifest when additional, more serious charges, including "exposing Syria to the danger of hostile acts," were brought against Kilo and three recently-released (Arabic. Levant News, 9/25/06) BDD signatories, Mahmoud Issa, Khalil Hussein, and Suleiman al-Shammar.  (Arabic. Elaph, 10/22/06). An order went out to rearrest them and detain them in the Adra prison.

The following day, the security forces raided Mahmoud Issa's house and re-arrested him. (Arabic. Elaph, 10/23/06).

In response, Kilo, Bunni, and Kamal Labwani launched a protest hunger strike which ended on 11/4. (AFP, 10/30/06). Meanwhile, Syrian and international human rights organizations strongly attacked the Syrian judiciary over the Kilo fiasco calling it "a judicial scandal." (Arabic. AKI, 10/25/06). The Kilo affair was covered by Reporters Sans Frontieres. (French. 11/2/06).

A German-based opposition group, The Party of Modernity and Democracy for Syria, declared it was holding a sit-in and a hunger strike of its own in solidarity with the Syrian detainees. (Arabic. AKI, 10/31/06). The hunger strike ended yesterday.

In related news, another recently-arrested BDD signatory, Ali Shehabi, was also denied release. (Arabic. Elaph, 10/22/06).

News Round-Up (9/14-19)

9/14 - The secretariat general of the National Salvation Front (NSF) held its second meeting in Brussels (9/13-15), where it decided to accept five new members representing various Kurdish movements. (Arabic. AKI, 9/14/06). According to information obtained by AKI, it was decided to expand the framework of the Front internally in Syria and externally on the road towards establishing a democratic state in Syria. Also, the Front reportedly decided on a media strategy and to launch a private TV station for the Syrian opposition. (See 9/19 below for more).

9/15 - Abdel Halim Khaddam spoke to UPI at the NSF conference in Brussels. (Arabic. Via "Free Syria," 9/15/06). The lengthy interview covered a range of issues. Khaddam said that "the Front's activity had so far been focused outside Syria, while maintaining contacts with the [Syrian] interior. However, in the upcoming stage it will move inside [Syria] in order to accelerate the process of change." Khaddam refused to give details on the methods that the NSF will use to communicate with the Syrian interior citing "security reasons."  He only said that "the Front is moving to activate communication inside [Syria] and to mobilize public opinion in Syria." Khaddam denied being contacted by any Arab state in the aftermath of Bashar Assad's speech in which he attacked Arab states that criticized Hezbollah for provoking the recent war with Israel. He added that Assad "has crossed the point of no return and has made his choice, pulling himself out of the Arab circle and placing himself in the Iranian circle." As for Hezbollah's war, Khaddam said that Bashar Assad "follows his father's advice and wants to bleed Israel through Hezbollah."

9/18 - The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria (NOHR) reported that the Syrian authorities arrested Muhammad Darwish, an activist in the Committees for the Revival of Civil Society. (Arabic. Elaph, 9/18/06). The NOHR press release said that Darwish had been called in for questioning by Military Intelligence in Damascus and had not been let go since. NOHR added that there was no warrant for the arrest and thus the detention is illegal, and that Darwish should either be charged and referred to court or released. The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) later reported that Darwish was released a couple of days later. (Arabic. SHRC, 9/29/06).

9/19 - Nasr Hassan, member of the NSF's secretariat general, wrote that the Front adopted at the Brussels meeting a basic document (Arabic) detailing its views on civic rights for Syrian citizens. (Arabic. "Free Syria," 9/19/06). The document lays out the various freedoms and rights that the Front adopts, and expresses its commitment to basic human rights as laid out in universal declarations and international treaties.

9/19 - Veteran Kurdish activist and member of the NSF's secretariat general, Salah Badreddine, told UPI at the Brussels conference that after deciding to expand its secretariat general, the NSF has agreed to coordinate with the Damascus Declaration groups and to open channels of dialogue with tribal leaders inside Syria at a later stage. (Arabic. Via "Free Syria," 9/19/06). Badreddine said that he would be coordinating with Khaddam and Bayanouni on joint peaceful activism inside Syria between the Kurdish groups that he represents and groups that support the NSF. While denying that any Arab state supported the conference, Badreddine said that NSF delegates would soon be visiting Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and maybe Iraq in the future, and would also hold meetings with Lebanese democratic forces, such as the Future Movement or the March 14 groups. On the international scene, Badreddine said that the US would head the list along with Britain and France. He added that all the US officials he's met, Republicans and Democrats, including State Department officials and members of Congress, agree that the Syrian regime is dictatorial and an exporter of terrorism and must be changed, as he put it.

9/19 - Elaph reported that the security services had arrested journalist Muhannad Abdel Rahman. (Arabic. 9/19/06). According to Elaph, Abdel Rahman wrote for the Kuwaiti al-Siyassah, which follows an anti-Assad editorial line. Lately, the report added, he began publishing interviews with Syrian dissidents in The Syrian Democratic Forum, the publication of The Syrian Democratic Assembly, a European-based group.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also issued a press release on Abdel Rahman's arrest. (IFEX, 9/22/06). The report noted that "Abdulrahman, 25, was picked up by security services in Damascus on his return from the village of Qamishly, in Syrian Kurdistan, where he had interviewed a Kurdish political leader. His family has had no news of him since his arrest." RSF added that Abdel Rahman wrote for Rezgar, an online secular Leftist news and opinion site. His work included numerous interviews and profiles of Syrian political figures.

9/19 - Elaph reported that detained dissident writer and professor Mahmoud Sarem (71) has been released. (Arabic. 9/19/06). Another report by the Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) confirmed that Sarem was released on bail. (Arabic. SHRC, 9/29/06). Sarem was arrested in September 2005 and faced charges of weakening the morale of the nation and nationalist sentiment, and conducting acts aimed at armed rebellion. Sarem had described the ruling regime as fascist.

News Round-Up (9/2-9)

9/2 - The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria (NOHR) said it was denied an operating permit by the social affairs ministry and blasted the move as a failure by the authorities to respect the law. A statement by the group said it operated "within the framework of the law" and vowed to continue its work in defense of "human rights and political detainees." (Arabic. Elaph, 9/2/06). The group comprises around 60 people, mostly lawyers and engineers, and includes representatives of various religions and ethnic groups in Syria. Its president, Ammar al-Qurabi, was arrested in mid-March at Damascus airport and detained for three days following a trip to the United States and France.

9/3 - A statement by the Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) said that a Syrian Kurdish activist Naime Abdo was arrested and brutally tortured, which necessitated her transfer to the military hospital in Aleppo on August 30. (Arabic. SHRC, 9/3/06).

9/4 - Dissident and former MP Riad Seif issued a statement detailing his constant harrassment by the Syrian security apparatus  since his release from jail in January 2006. (Arabic. ME Transparent, 9/4/06). Seif said that the Syrian security services ordered him to desist from political activity and told him not to give interviews to the media, and threatened that if he did not obey these orders, the Syrian regime would be forced to arrest or kill him. (MEMRI, 9/19/06). The statement offers a snapshot of the regime's tactics in dealing with the opposition.

9/5 - A statement from the Paris office of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (PDK-S/Al-Party) said that the authorities continue to detain Kurdish national figure Abdul Rahman Wello, and have refused all pleas to release him. Wello is 70 years old and was arrested on June 19 but has not yet been charged. (Arabic. Via "Free Syria," 9/5/06). The statement added that according to information received by the PDK-S/Al-Party, is currently being held in a Damascus jail where he is being maltreated despite his old age and despite his fragile health which continues to deteriorate.

9/5 - On September 5, the authorities released one of the detained signatories of the Beirut-Damascus Declaration (BDD). (Arabic. Levant News, 9/5/06). Muhammad Mahfoud was released on bail to await trial, making him the fifth BDD detainee to be released at the time. The other four were released in mid-July. Although the lawyers of the remaining five detainees had appealed for the release of their clients, which include Michel Kilo and Anwar Bunni, their request was rejected. The BDD had asked the Syrian regime to recognize and respect Lebanon's sovereignty and independence, and to demarcate the common borders and exchange embassies.

9/9 - The Committees for the Defence of Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms in Syria (CDF) issued a statement denouncing the maltreatment of prisoner of opinion Habib Saleh, noting that he is being deprived the most basic rights afforded to prisoners. (Arabic. Elaph, 9/9/06). The statement said that Saleh is deprived of vists, except from his wife and daughter. He is not allowed to see his lawyer, or to read the papers or watch TV or listen to the radio. He is also deprived from daily recreation and is under a "prison siege" whereby inmates are forbidden from talking to him. His physical and emotional states are said to be deteriorating (he suffers from several chronic illnesses).

Saleh is a former Damascus Spring detainee who was jailed for three years on 9/12/01. He was again arrested by military intelligence on 5/30/05 and charged with spreading false and exaggerated news. He had been publishing scathing articles on the web, criticizing the Syrian president and his family and some of the symbols of the regime. On August 15 he was given the maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Assault, Trials, and Travel Bans Round-Up (8/11)

[Editor's note: Due to the latest crisis in Lebanon and Israel, posting on The Syria Monitor has taken a temporary back seat. Regular posting will resume as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience and the long absence. In the meantime, here is a quick round-up of some recent developments. For commentary on the Lebanon crisis, please visit Across the Bay.]

7/16 - A couple of regime thugs assaulted dissident Riad Seif, a few feet away from the state security branch where he was called in for review on Sunday, July 16. After the session was over, the two thugs jumped him and brutally beat him. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. (Arabic. SHRC, 7/20/06).

The statement by Muhannad Hussni of the Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) noted that a week before the assault, Seif had published an article on ME Transparent discussing the cell phone contracts in Syria (a monopoly controlled by Bashar Assad's cousin). It was the same topic that had landed him a 5-year prison sentence.

7/27 -  A judge ordered the continued detention of Ali Abdallah and his son Muhammad, and delayed his trial on account of him not carrying proper identification papers. The Abdallahs are being held for disseminating news abroad that financially harm the state and for defaming the head of state and a judge. (Arabic. Levant News, 7/27/06).

Meanwhile, a session was held in the trial of dissident Kamal Labwani, where his lawyer requested the two televised interviews be played in court. Labwani is accused of inciting a foreign state to attack Syria. The charge is based on his statements on al-Hurra and al-Mustaqilla channels.

Another session was held in the trial of activist Fateh Jamous, who is charged with undermining the state abroad. Jamous denied the charges, saying he does not wish to undermine the state or its unity, and is willing to defend it at all cost against any aggression, but a difference should be made between the state and the authorities. Jamous is also being charged based on his TV appearance while in Britain this past March. He maintains that he rejects foreign intervention, stressing that democratic change is essential, but must take place openly, peacefully, and gradually.

7/28 - The Syrian authorities have banned lawyer Muhannad Hussni, president of the Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC), from traveling to participate in an NGO workshop in Amman on July 27. (Arabic. SHRC, 7/28/06). The ban was ordered by the state security apparatus.

Similarly, lawyer Ahmad Manjouna was forbidden from leaving the country on July 27 and told that he's been on a travel ban since July 4. In the past, Manjouna had been banned from traveling for ten years.