Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DAMASCUS2133
2006-05-08 12:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

INTERIOR MINISTER REVEALS ABDULLAHS' WHEREABOUTS

Tags:  PHUM PGOV SY 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6985
OO RUEHAG
DE RUEHDM #2133/01 1281240
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 081240Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8831
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0038
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 002133 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SY
SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER REVEALS ABDULLAHS' WHEREABOUTS
AND REASON FOR ARREST, AS CIVIL SOCIETY DEBATES ON WHAT
ACTION TO TAKE

REF: DAMASCUS 001358

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 002133

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SY
SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER REVEALS ABDULLAHS' WHEREABOUTS
AND REASON FOR ARREST, AS CIVIL SOCIETY DEBATES ON WHAT
ACTION TO TAKE

REF: DAMASCUS 001358

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: More than a month after their detention by
unidentified security forces, Interior Minister Bassam Abdul
Majid has revealed to human rights lawyers the whereabouts
and reasons for the arrest of prominent civil society
activist Ali Abdullah and his son Mohammed. The two men,
currently held at Sednaya prison, were arrested at the
request of Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) chief judge
Faez an-Nouri because of their advocacy work near the SSSC
during court sessions. Their initial trial, over which Nouri
will preside, has been set for June 18 at the SSSC. A second
son, Omar, is also being held at Sednaya prison, together
with other members of a secular student organization. Civil
society activists note confusion about the cases among both
authorities and the civil society community, which has been
criticized by some activists for being too hesitant in its
reaction. Meanwhile, activists note that the Abdullahs' case
has dissuaded some would-be activists from continuing their
work. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) INTERIOR MINISTER REVEALS SSSC CHIEF'S COMPLAINT AS
REASON FOR ABDULLAH ARREST: A delegation of three human
rights lawyers and the wife of prominent civil society
activist Ali Abdullah met with Interior Minister Bassam Abdul
Majid on May 1 to discuss the March 23 disappearance (reftel)
of Abdullah and his son Mohammed. The meeting followed the
Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) April 30 announcement
that set the father's and son's initial court date for June
18 on unspecified charges, the first evidence in over a month
that the two men were still alive. According to human rights
lawyer and activist Rezan Zeituneh, who attended the meeting,
Abdul Majid revealed that Supreme State Security Court (SSSC)
judge Faez an-Nouri had requested the two men be arrested
because of their weekly presence outside of the SSSC
proceedings. (NOTE: While diplomats and lawyers are allowed
to observe SSSC trials, the press and the general public are

barred from entry. However, a number of human activists and
prisoner family members hold vigil near the courthouse,
monitoring the results of cases, applying for visitation
permits to Sednaya prison, and (in some cases) hoping for a
glimpse of a relative. Zeituneh, Mohammed Abdullah, and
(since his November 2005 prison release) Ali Abdullah are
among the activists who have most regularly attended. END
NOTE).


3. (C) During the meeting, Abdul Majid related that Nouri
had accused the Abdullahs of speaking badly of the court and
of Nouri personally and asked for their arrest. Abdul Majid
told the delegation that the activists' presence near the
SSSC is illegal and that Nouri was justified in his
complaint. As for visitation rights for Mrs. Abdullah, Abdul
Majid told her she must apply with Nouri like any other
prisoner's family. Abdul Majid concluded the half-hour
meeting by telling the lawyers that they were welcome to meet
with him as individual Syrians and lawyers, but not as human
rights activists, as such activism is illegal in Syria.


4. (C) Abdul Majid's meeting with the Abdullah delegation
marks his first official meeting with human rights activists
since taking office in February. When asked why she thought
Abdul Majid had agreed to the meeting, Zeituneh noted that
she was left with the impression that he is "very weak" and
seemed to be taking directions from Nouri. Nouri's power may
even extend to carrying out such arrests himself: human
rights activist Anwar Bunni speculated to Poloff in late
April that the as-yet unidentified security agents who
arrested the Abdullahs may have been from Nouri's "private"
cadre of security officers, a group of which includes one of
his sons. Zeituneh added that Nouri's ability to wield such
power over the Interior Minister is not surprising, given
Nouri's power and corruption. She pointed to the example of
one of her former clients, who (in her judgment) was clearly
guilty of espionage but whose family had paid Nouri 500,000
SYP (about USD 10,000) to release him, and paid a similar sum
to have his record expunged.


5. (C) OTHER SON ALSO IN SEDNAYA: Zeituneh added that
Abdullah's other son, Omar, is now also held at Sednaya
prison, together with seven other students connected to a
secular student discussion group. Zeituneh told Poloff that
the family of one of the other students had received a phone
call from an unidentified security agent, informing them that
the students were in good physical condition.

DAMASCUS 00002133 002 OF 002




6. (C) NO UNITED CIVIL SOCIETY VOICE: Throughout the period
of the Abdullah's disappearance, civil society organizations
were divided on how to react. While a number of
organizations, including the Atassi Forum and SWASIAH,
formally called for SARG authorities to produce information
about the whereabouts and well-being of the Abdullahs, other
groups were much quieter. Bunni noted his "disgust" that the
Damascus Declaration (DD) group had not made a statement on
behalf of a prominent fellow activist. Veteran activist and
DD signatory Haithem al-Maleh dismissed claims by Bunni and
Zeituneh that more action was necessary because the Abdullah
case was somehow special due to the Abdullahs' prominence and
the fact that three members of the same family had been
detained almost simultaneously. Researcher and civil society
activist Radwan Zyadeh noted to Poloff on May 1 that while
the majority of DD signatories had favored making a
statement, at least one signatory other than Maleh had argued
against it, saying that the DD did not need to release a
statement for one individual. Zyadeh added that the DD group
was still discussing the issue.


7. (C) DISAPPEARANCE AFFECTING OTHER CIVIL SOCIETY EFFORTS:
The Abdullah case has cast a long shadow over the work of the
civil society community. The recent announcement of the
death in custody of accused Islamist Mohammad Shaher Haysa
had raised concern that the Abdullahs could meet a similar
fate, a fear assuaged only by the court date announcement and
the subsequent Interior Minister meeting. Meanwhile,
Zeituneh's youth NGO, in which Mohammed Abdullah played a
leadership role, is hemorrhaging members. According to
Zeituneh, members are dropping out and refuse to come to
meetings. They feel alone and fear that further
participation could destroy their future. If prominent
activists like the Abdullahs can disappear and "no one
cares", the group members doubt that anyone would come to
their aid and they "will go to prison for free."


8. (C) COMMENT: While individual activists succeeded in
bringing the case to the attention of the international media
and human rights organizations, and in eventually confronting
a SARG official on the case, civil society's inability to
quickly and effectively organize a mass campaign on behalf of
one of its most active (and universally respected) members
reflects the success of the SARG's recent intimidation
campaign against the opposition, as well as continued
disunity among civil society organizations. Furthermore, the
potential downside of the opposition's consensus-oriented
decisionmaking processes was revealed: as with other recent
Damascus Declaration decisions, the voices of one or two
members seem able to block even relatively minor public
relations actions. More disturbingly, the crackdown also
seems to have curbed civil society's attempts to broaden its
membership base and attract younger members to what is widely
considered to be a movement of the middle-aged and elderly.


SECHE