Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DAMASCUS2263
2006-05-15 11:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

MORE CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISTS CHARGED, LABWANI

Tags:  PHUM PGOV SY 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4484
OO RUEHAG
DE RUEHDM #2263/01 1351106
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 151106Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8990
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0055
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 002263 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SY
SUBJECT: MORE CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISTS CHARGED, LABWANI
COURT DATE SET, MICHEL KILO ARRESTED

REF: (A) DAMASCUS 2133 (B) DAMASCUS 2214 (C) SECSTATE
77093

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 002263

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SY
SUBJECT: MORE CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISTS CHARGED, LABWANI
COURT DATE SET, MICHEL KILO ARRESTED

REF: (A) DAMASCUS 2133 (B) DAMASCUS 2214 (C) SECSTATE
77093

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: Activists Fateh Jammous, Ali Abdullah, and
Mohammed Abdullah appeared May 14 for criminal court
proceedings at the Palace of Justice in Damascus. Following
a two-hour interrogation, Jammous was initially charged with
encouraging sectarian civil war, which carries a life
sentence or, should such a conflict take place, the death
penalty. The Abdullahs were charged with insulting a court
official and criticizing the justice system, charges which
carry a possible sentence of six months to two years. All
three men remain in custody, with lawyers concerned that the
SARG will punish Jammous severely as a dissenting Alawite.
The criminal court also set the opening date of activist
Kamal Labwani's trial for May 22, giving lawyers less than 10
days to prepare. Meanwhile, arrests continue, as key civil
society activist Michel Kilo was arrested the morning of May
15 by State Security agents and has yet to be released.


2. (C) JAMMOUS, ABDULLAHS ARRAIGNED AT PALACE OF JUSTICE:
Opposition activist Fateh Jammous, as well as father-and-son
civil society activists Ali and Mohammed Abdullah appeared
May 14 at the criminal court located at the Palace of Justice
in Damascus. Approximately 20 human rights lawyers, family
members, Poloff and a Dutch diplomat were present at the
courthouse, but only three lawyers were allowed into the
interrogation room with the defendants. Following a two-hour
interrogation by investigative judge Sami Zeinuddin, Jammous,
the Alawite leader of the Communist Action Party, was charged
with encouraging sectarian civil war, which carries a minimum
life sentence. Should a civil war take place, Jammous would
be subject to an immediate death sentence. According to
human rights lawyer Khalil Maatouk, a member of Jammous's
defense team, the charges are based on two public meetings
Jammous held in Stockholm and London with Syrian expatriates
to discuss the current situation in Syria. According to
Maatouk, the SARG's evidence file included verbatim

transcripts of the discussions held during these meetings,
suggesting that an audience member had recorded and passed on
the recordings to SARG authorities. After much deliberation,
the presiding judge ruled that Jammous must remain in SARG
custody. Jammous was in high spirits and looked physically
well, although another defense team lawyer, Sereen Khoury,
noted that Jammous had told her he was suffering from health
problems. Jammous is currently detained at Adraa Prison.


3. (C) The Abdullahs were interrogated for nearly two hours
by investigative judge Khaled al-Hamood. Human rights
activist and defense lawyer Rezan Zeituneh detailed the
Abdullahs' journey through the Syrian prison system since
their arrest on March 23: after spending three days being
interrogated by State Security agents, both men were held
separately in solitary confinement at Sednaya Prison for 29
days, and were later reunited. They were transferred to Adra
prison on or about May 10. According to human rights activist
Anwar al-Bunni, the men face charges of insulting a court
official and criticizing the justice system, charges which
carry a possible sentence of six months to two years. A
press release by the National Human Rights Organization
(NHRO) detailed the Abdullahs' hearing, noting that the
charges stem from a March 22 incident outside the Supreme
State Security Court (SSSC),during which authorities claim
Mohammed Abdullah cursed the State of Emergency after police
officers struck individuals waiting to see their family
members. Chief judge Faez an-Nouri then summoned Ali
Abdullah to his office, during which time Nouri questioned
the elder Abdullah about his son's actions and threatened to
hit Mohammed if such an incident takes place again. Both men
were arrested the following day. During their interrogation,
the investigative judge also questioned the Abdullahs as to
whether they had incited a riot at the SSSC, an accusation
which they denied. Both men were in good physical condition
and were laughing and telling jokes with family and fellow
activists. As the men are still facing charges at the
Supreme State Security Court (ref A),the presiding judge
decided to continue holding the men in custody until the
courts can resolve which has precedence. According to
Zeituneh, Syrian law does not allow two different courts to
try the same case simultaneously.


4. (C) LAWYERS CONCERNED THAT JAMMOUS MAY FACE SECT-BASED
RETALIATION, CAN'T EXPLAIN "DOUBLED" ABDULLAH CASE: Human
rights lawyers are concerned about all three cases,
particularly that of Jammous, who, as an Alawite, may be

DAMASCUS 00002263 002 OF 002


targeted by the SARG for especially harsh punishment. Bunni
compared Jammous's case to that of the lone remaining
Damascus Spring (DS) detainee, Aref Dalilah, whose ten-year
jail sentence for his DS activities is perceived by the human
rights community as the SARG's revenge for breaking with the
Alawite ranks. (NOTE: All other DS activists received three
to five year sentences.) Activists were at a loss to explain
why the Abdullah case was being pursued at both the SSSC and
the criminal court. A family friend of Jammous surmised to
Poloff that the SARG's decision to try the cases in criminal
court was an effort to paint opposition members as "common
criminals" and make long-term sentencing much easier, noting
that the same tactic had been used against DS activists Riad
Seif and Mamoun al-Homsi in 2001.


5. (C) LABWANI TRIAL DATE SET: The Criminal Court also
announced on May 14 that activist Kamal Labwani's trial will
commence May 22, following his May 11 hearing (ref B).
Lawyers were surprised at the announcement, noting that it
was an unusually quick decision and would give lawyers less
than 10 days to prepare for the case.


6. (C) KEY ACTIVIST MICHEL KILO DETAINED: Meanwhile, the
SARG continued its wave of arrests, as key civil society
activist and intellectual Michel Kilo was arrested by State
Security agents on May 15 at approximately 1 AM, and has yet
to be released. Bunni told Poloff that the arrest may be
connected to Kilo's work on the Damascus-Beirut Declaration,
which was released last week. (NOTE: Post is working on a
translation of the document.)


7. (C) COMMENT: The SARG has apparently added public show
trials to its repertoire of crackdown methods, preferring to
"transparently" move against its critics in an open court of
law rather than in the closed-door SSSC proceedings, to which
only diplomats and lawyers are allowed access. Activists and
prisoner families have noted, however, that the upper
echelons of the SARG influence criminal court verdicts as
much as they do at the SSSC. Press access to criminal court
cases has been limited in the past, most famously in the
Seif/Homsi case, during which only reporters for the
state-owned SANA were allowed into the courtroom.
Furthermore, the decision to try Jammous, who is vocally
against Western intervention and influence in Syria, on
capital charges shows that the SARG will not limit severe
punishment to pro-Western activists like Labwani. Human
rights lawyers will have their hands full over the next ten
days, as the Labwani trial opens, human rights activist
Haithem al-Maleh's sentencing is set for May 25, and Kilo's
fate is decided.
SECHE