MARCH MADNESS, SYRIAN STYLE, AS ARBITRARY ARRESTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 001108

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SY
SUBJECT: MARCH MADNESS, SYRIAN STYLE, AS ARBITRARY ARRESTS
AND DETENTIONS CONTINUE

REF: (A) DAM 1054 (B) DAM 929 (C) DAM 644

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4(b)/(d
)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In addition to the recent detentions of
Riad Seif and others during civil society-organized
demonstrations, arbitrary arrests and detentions have
continued in recent weeks. Targets have included a prominent
civil society activist, the brother of a key post contact,
and a journalist. While some recent detainees (including
Seif) have eventually been released, a number of them still
face legal charges. END SUMMARY.



2. (C) ARRESTS AT BOTH MARCH 9 AND MARCH 12 DEMONSTRATIONS:
Recent demonstrations marking significant political
anniversaries have included a number of arrests and
detentions. Human rights activists report that five
demonstrators were arrested on March 9, immediately following
the peaceful demonstration protesting the 43-year
continuation of Emergency Law (ref A). Three of the arrested
demonstrators were identified as Shawkat Garaz al-Din, Ayham
Badoor, Adnan Abu A'asi, while the two other arrestees remain
unidentified. All five remain in custody. As noted in
septel, leading opposition figure Riad Seif and four other
protesters were detained following a demonstration on March
12, commemorating the second anniversary of the 2004 Kurdish
Qamishli uprising. Seif was released late at night on March
12, while the other four protesters remain in custody.


3. (C) HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION SPOKESMAN ARRESTED UPON
RETURN FROM U.S./EUROPEAN TOUR: Local human rights
organizations have reported that Dr. Ammar Qurabbi, spokesman
for the Syria-based Arab Human Rights Organization, was
arrested upon his return to Syria on the afternoon of March

12. After being held by immigration officials for five hours
at the airport, Qurabbi was then transferred to the
Palestinian Investigative Branch of Syrian Military
Intelligence (SMI). Qurrabi had been traveling abroad for
the past two months, attending the Syrian National Congress
in Washington in late January, as well as holding meetings in
London and, most recently, Paris.


4. (C) Qurabbi's arrest may be based on his trip to Europe,
as any Syrian activist traveling to both London and Paris at
the moment is apparently the object of scrutiny, as these two
cities are so connected in SARG minds to the offices of MB
leader Ali Sadreddin Bayanouni and Abdulhalim Khaddam,
respectively. (NOTE: To post's knowledge, no other SNC
conference participant was arrested following his/her return
from Washington. END NOTE) In addition, Qurabbi has also
been the target of much criticism from within the opposition
community itself. Furthermore, some contacts have noted that
an ideological split has taken shape within the AHRO, with
some members wishing to adhere to their Arab nationalist
political roots on one side, and Qurabbi and his supporters
pleading for less politics and ideology and more focus on
"pure" human rights issues. His "uncooperative" stance (as
described by contacts) at the SNC conference in January,
combined with rumors that he and his wife, journalist Bahia
Mardini, had met with Syrian embassy officials in Washington,
has made him a target for criticism by fellow civil society
activists over the last few weeks.


5. (C) ACTIVIST'S APOLITICAL BROTHER DETAINED BY PSD:
Meanwhile, women's and children's activist Daad Mousa told
Poloff that her brother Ma'an had been arrested by Political
Security Directorate (PSD) officials on February 22 and was
held in an underground cell for eight days. (NOTE: This is
the latest of Mousa's problems with PSD, previously reported
in ref C. END NOTE) The brother, an administrator at the
Damascus University Faculty of Education with no history of
civil society activism, was summoned to the PSD branch for
students and teachers in the Damascus neighborhood of Nissat
on the night of February 22 and was held in a solitary,
underground cell for eight days. He was beaten by security
officials, who broke one of his teeth, and was accused of
issuing false exam results for students wishing to defer
military service. According to his sister, Ma'an's position
does not entail issuing such documentation. On March 2nd, he
appeared before a criminal judge for formal investigation,
where four "witnesses" were presented, all of whom accused
two security officials of torturing them to elicit statements
implicating Ma'an. All four witnesses admitted to not being
acquainted with Ma'an and noted that they did not even work
in the same university faculties. Her brother was released
from detention by the presiding judge but charges are still
pending.



6. (C) When asked why she thought this had happened, Daad
Mousa answered that it was clearly a threat against her; PSD
knows that her family is her "weak spot." For now, Mousa
plans to focus on obtaining psychological and medical care
for her brother and convincing SARG authorities not to
prosecute him. She is considering pursuing a civil case
against PSD for her brother's wrongful imprisonment, although
Syrian law makes such suits almost impossible to win.


7. (C) JOURNALIST DETAINED BY MILITARY INTELLIGENCE FOR
FOUR DAYS AFTER REVEALING REORGANIZATION: Earlier this month,
journalist Shaaban Abboud was detained by Syrian Military
Intelligence (SMI) authorities for four days, a week after he
published an article in the Lebanese newspaper an-Nahar,
describing reorganization plans and personnel moves at SMI.
Abboud was arrested by SMI on March 2 and was released on
bail March 6. According to human rights activist Anwar
al-Bunni, he still faces prosecution by the Military Court,
probably on charges relating to revealing state secrets.
Contacts tell us that a group of well-connected journalist
colleagues quietly intervened behind the scenes with
high-level Syrian officials to obtain Abboud's release.


8. (C) UPDATES ON OTHER RECENT DETENTIONS: Meanwhile, the
fates of activists and journalists detained since
mid-February (ref B & C) have been mixed. Six students
arrested by Air Force Security remain in custody with no
further information available to human rights activists.
Mohammed Riad ad-Drar, who was arrested on March 5 in front
of the Supreme State Security Court, was released from
detention March 9. Journalist Adel Mahfouz, who was detained
in mid-February after calling for interfaith dialogue
following the Mohammed cartoon controversy, was released on
March 12 but still faces charges in criminal court.
SECHE