HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP: ABDUL SALAAM FACES PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000286 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM SY SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP: ABDUL SALAAM FACES PRIME MINISTER,S WRATH; MALEH AND AZEEM TRIALS CONTINUE; AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION VISIT TO SYRIA REF: (A) 2005 DAMASCUS 006075 (B) 2005 DAMASCUS 006509 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4(b)/(d) ¶1. (C): ABDUL SALAAM FACES WRATH OF PRIME MINISTER: The SARG has taken additional steps against Etana Press manager and civil society activist Maan Abdul Salaam, who has faced multiple confrontations with the SARG in recent months. According to Abdul Salaam, a directive was sent by the Prime Minister,s office during the week of January 16 to all ministries, forbidding contact with Etana Press. This is the latest in a series of steps taken against Abdul Salaam in recent months, stemming from problems originating with the Etana-sponsored women,s conference in November (ref A) and ensuing difficulties with a book critical of the Muslim headcovering for women (hejab) distributed at the conference (ref C). Abdul Salaam told Poloff that he had expected to be arrested upon his return from a conference in Malaysia on January 17. ¶2. (C): According to Abdul Salaam, the Prime Minister,s directive was a direct result of complaints directed to the SARG by a variety of Islamists about what they consider to be "the anti-hejab" book. Those lodging complaints to SARG officials included--of all people-- fellow human rights activist Haithem Maleh, who complained that if such books were allowed by SARG censors, there should be no reason that his conservative Islamic books are banned. (NOTE: Maleh had voiced a similar complaint about the book to Poloff in December.) An unidentified sheikh has also launched a campaign against Abdul Salaam,s book and criticized the SARG for allowing its publication in Syria. According to Abdul Salaam, Maleh had reached out to him and told him that he had not/not registered his complaint with any high-level figures. Maleh had also offered to mediate between Abdul Salaam and the sheikh. Abdul Salaam added that he had been told that Higher Education Minister Hani Murtada had come under fire within the SARG for approving the conference (which was held at Damascus University) in the first place. ¶3. (C): Abdul Salaam noted that he had met with officials from the German, Dutch, Finnish, and Canadian embassies that had sponsored the November conference, and that the embassies were considering protesting the SARG directive. While encouraged, Abdul Salaam noted his skepticism that the German ambassador would take part. In the meantime, Abdul Salaam plans to attend NGO conferences in Europe beginning next week. He has also declined to participate in an upcoming USG-sponsored International Visitor program on NGO Management, citing concerns about potential SARG backlash, particularly in a &post-Labwani8 environment. ¶4. (C): MALEH, ABDUL AZEEM TRIALS CONTINUE: On January 19, the separate military trials of Maleh and Hassan Abdul Azeem, both Damascus Declaration signatories, continued. In Maleh,s case, the presiding judge denied Maleh,s request that the single military-law charge be dropped (ref B). The judge set the next trial date for February 2 for Maleh. In separate proceedings, the case against Abdul Azeem also continued with mainly administrative procedures. Abdul Azeem,s next trial date is February 12. ¶5. (C): AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION VISITS SYRIA: Two representatives of Amnesty International (AI) visited Syria January 18-23, in AI,s first visit since 1997. According to Swedish embassy officials, the Syrian ambassador to Sweden was instrumental in arranging the AI visit, which took nearly two years to finalize. According to human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, the AI representatives, Carl Soderbergh, General Secretary of AI,s Swedish Section, and Neil Sammond, a researcher from AI London,s International Secretariat, met with a number of Foreign Ministry officials, attended a State Security Court Session with a brief follow-up discussion with presiding judge Faez al-Nouri, and also met with a number of European diplomats. SECHE