FOUR MORE DAMASCUS-BEIRUT DECLARATION SIGNATORIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 002392

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL SY
SUBJECT: FOUR MORE DAMASCUS-BEIRUT DECLARATION SIGNATORIES
INTERROGATED, AS BUNNI FACES ADDITIONAL CHARGES RELATED TO
EC-FINANCED CENTER

REF: (A) DAMASCUS 2338 (B) DAMASCUS 2318 (C) DAMASCUS
963

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Kathy Johnson-Casares for reasons 1.4(
b)/(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Four signatories of the Damascus-Beirut
Declaration (DBD),including prominent human rights lawyer
Anwar al-Bunni, were interrogated on May 21 by investigatory
judges at the Palace of Justice Criminal Court in Damascus.
Bunni, who has been on a hunger strike for the last two days,
was interrogated solely about his involvement with a European
Commission (EC)-funded human rights center, while the other
three activists were questioned about their involvement with
the DBD. According to human rights activists, Bunni and two
other activists were physically assaulted by agents at a
State Security branch prior to their transfer to Adraa
prison. The most serious of the five charges against the men
include weakening national feelings and provoking sectarian
divisions, which can carry up to a life sentence. Bunni
faces an additional two charges related to his work with the
EC on the now-closed Civil Society Training CQer.
Meanwhile, a statement by the European Union condemning the
wave of arrests has provoked harsh SARG criticism, while
international human organizations have also issued statements
against the SARG's latest crackdown. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Four Damascus-Beirut Declaration (DBD) signatories,
including prominent human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni,
former political prisoner and Communist Action Party activist
Mahmoud Issa, Atassi Forum member Mohammed Mahfouz, and
National Democratic Front activist Suleiman al-Shummar, were
all interrogated on May 21 by investigatory judges at the
Palace of Justice Criminal Court in Damascus. Five other
signatories were interrogated without lawyers present on May
18, including Ghaleb Amar, Khalil Hussein, Safwan Tayfour,
Mahmoud Mur'i, and Nidal Darwish (ref A). All nine men face
five charges, the most serious of which is weakening national
feelings and provoking a sectarian feud, which can carry up
to a life sentence. Other charges include weakening the
state's dignity, cursing the President, publishing false or
exaggerated news, and abusing public servants during their
working hours. (NOTE: Fellow signatory Michel Kilo, who was
interrogated on May 17 (ref B),also faces the same charges.)
According to human rights activists, Bunni, Darwish, and
Mahfouz were all hit a number of times by State Security
agents during their initial detention with State Security,
prior to their transfer to Adraa prison. In addition to
Poloff, representatives from the Austrian, UK, and Dutch
embassies were present at the courthouse at the time of the
interrogation.


3. (C) BUNNI ON HUNGER STRIKE, WILL FACE ADDITIONAL
CHARGES RELATED TO EC CIVIL SOCIETY TRAINING CENTER:
According to Bunni's wife, he has been on hunger strike since
arriving at Adraa prison but is consuming water. During a
brief conversation following his interrogation, he told his
wife that the investigating judge's questions dealt solely
with the EC-funded Civil Society Training Center, of which
Bunni remains the official director, despite its closing by
SARG authorities on March 1 (ref C). According to human
rights lawyers, Bunni is facing charges of conspiracy with a
foreign power and belonging to a secret organization
attempting to overthrow the state, in addition to the
DBD-related charges.


4. (C) OTHER SIGNATORIES DETAINED, RELEASED: Meanwhile,
signatory Abbas Abbas was released over the weekend, while
fellQsignatory Kamal Sheikho was informed by State Security
that he was no longer being sought. Signatory and writer
Fayez Sara told Poloff that he was detained for approximately
two hours by State Security on May 20 for questioning.
Similarly, fellow signatory and university professor Munir
Shahoud was detained for questioning by Lattakia State
Security officials for several hours and later released.
Signatory Khaled Khalifeh, who was detained briefly last
week, was re-detained on May 21 and released after several
hours.


5. (C) CIVIL SOCIETY COMMUNITY TURNS OUT TO SUPPORT
DETAINEES, ASKS EU TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION: Approximately 30
civil society activists, including senior opposition figure
Riad at-Turk, former Damascus Spring detainees Habib Issa and
Mamoun al-Homsi, activists Nejati Tayyara, members of the
newly-formed Kurdish Committee for Human Rights, and
representatives from all the local human rights
organizations, joined the detainees' family members as they

DAMASCUS 00002392 002 OF 002


waited to see their arrested relatives. Tayyara, Sara, and
Homsi all told the EU diplomats present in separate
conversations that the EU's May 19 statement on the
activists' arrest was a good step, but that the EU should
consider taking further measures, including withdrawing their
ambassadors for a period of time. The EU diplomats declined
to comment, but did express their dismay that Bunni's
additional charges were related to his work with the EC.


6. (C) SARG CRITICIZES EU STATEMENT: The SARG responded to
the EU's May 19 statement, calling it an "intervention in
Syria's internal affairs" and accusing the EU of hypocrisy.
According to press reports, an MFA spokesman said that EU
members have no right to defend human rights and democracy
since some EU members states "forced a siege on Palestinians
and questioned their democratic choice to select the
government." An article in the SARG-controlled Cham Press
added that the EU was being hypocritical as some member
nations were being investigated for "allegedly abetting a
network of secret US prisons." Austrian DCM Doris Danler
told PolChief that the MFA summoned the EU and Austrian
ambassadors separately to deliver a formal complaint about
the statement, with each meeting consisting only of a reading
of the MFA's statement and little or no discussion. Danler
seemed somewhat surprised that the EU had been able to
publish the statement so quickly. Danler added that EU Heads
of Mission were meeting May 22 to consider further steps.
Although the meeting was still underway when she met with
Polchief, it was her sense that member states wanted to wait
and assess the situation before undertaking any further
steps. She did not comment further on the additional charges
brought against Bunni.


7. (C) INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS ALSO WEIGH
IN: In addition to the EU, both Amnesty International (AI)
and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have issued statements in the
last week condemning the arrest wave. AI's statement details
the DBD arrests, as well as the cases of Fateh Jammous, Ali
and Mohammed Abdullah, and Kamal Labwani, and designates all
of the detainees as prisoners of conscious. It also calls
for the release of these detainees, as well as of all other
prisoners of conscience in Syria. HRW, in a similar
statement dated May 20, details the arrests of the DBD
signatories and calls for their release, as well as for the
SARG to "end their harassment and persecution of human rights
defenders and activists."


8. (C) COMMENT: While the arrest wave connected to the DBD
appears to have subsided somewhat for now, it is becoming
clear that the SARG is intent on using its relatively open
criminal court system to conduct show trials against its
harshest critics like Bunni and fellow dissident and
signatory Michel Kilo, moving away from its largely
discredited Supreme State Security Court. Activists have
quietly welcomed the EU's public statement and some hope that
the EU continues to exercise more of its perceived leverage
with the SARG. Other activists believe that the SARG is
immune to international criticism, a belief that is tempered
somewhat by the SARG's vehement denunciation of the EU's
statement. How the EU will deal with the additional,
EC-Center-related charges against Bunni remains unclear, as
their stated policy of "quiet diplomacy" on the Center seems
to have failed.










JOHNSON-CASARES