SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP: PROTEST PREVENTED,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 004797

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR WALLER, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SY
SUBJECT: SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP: PROTEST PREVENTED,
ABDULLAHS CONVICTED, DALILA HEALTH DECLINING


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael H. Corbin for reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary: Security services used limited FORCE to
prevent a demonstration October 5 in downtown Damascus, which
had been called for by three leading Kurdish parties and
publicly supported by the Damascus Declaration group and the
externally based National Salvation Front. Security agents
surrounded and struck Kurdish leaders and Damascus
Declaration group leader Riad Seif as they shook hands on the
site of the planned protest, quickly moving all participants
by FORCE from the scene. Separately, on October 4, a Mezzeh
Military Court judge convicted political activist Ali
Abdullah and his son Mohammed of spreading lies about Syria
in articles and interviews. The Abdullahs were each
sentenced to six-months in prison and fined about USD 20.
They were expected to be released October 5, after having
already spent more than six months in prison. In other news,
there are public reports that jailed Damascus Spring detainee
Aref Dalila, who is Alawite, may have suffered a stroke in
prison and that he continues to demand private medical
treatment. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Security services used limited FORCE to prevent a
demonstration October 5 in downtown Damascus, which had been
called for by three leading Kurdish parties and supported by
the Damascus Declaration group and the externally based
National Salvation Front. The demonstration was called to
mark the 44th anniversary of the census in Hassakeh that
deprived tens of thousands of Kurds of their nationality,
according to Kurdish officials. Leading figures from the
Yekiti and Azadi parties and the Future Movement gathered on
a corner near the Prime Minister's office, along with
Damascus Declaration leader Riad Seif, and were shaking
hands, when riot police swarmed the gathering, hitting and
moving all of the opposition leaders by FORCE several blocks
down the street. The overwhelming number of security
officials prevented any gathering of other Kurds and
opposition figures who had come to Seven Lakes Square near
the PM's office. As of early in the afternoon October 5,
there were no reports of arrests.


3. (SBU) ABDULLAHS CONVICTED: On October 4, a Mezzeh
Military Court judge convicted political activist Ali
Abdullah and his son Mohammed of spreading lies about Syria
in articles and interviews. The Abdullahs were each
sentenced to six-months in prison and fined about USD 20.
They were expected to be released October 5, after having
already spent more than six months in prison. The Abdullahs
were acquitted of charges of insulting Syria's President
Bashar al-Asad and the court. By way of background, Ali and
Mohammed Abdullah were arrested March 23 and held
incommunicado for almost a month before appearing in court.
In 2005, Ali Abdullah was imprisoned for six months after
reading a letter from Muslim Brotherhood chief Ali Sadreddin
Bayanouni at an Atassi Forum meeting. Mohammed has also been
active in Syrian civil society and was arrested and convicted
of defaming the homeland in September 2005 after launching a
support group for political prisoners' families. Another son
of Ali, Omar, has been detained since March 18 by Syrian AIR
Force Intelligence for his association with a group of
student activists.


4. (C) DALILA'S HEALTH WORSENING: The longest-serving
Damascus Spring detainee, Aref Dalila, who is about
63-years-old, may have suffered a stroke in prison as a
result of an ongoing heart condition, according to local
activists here and an October statement by Amnesty
International (AI). The left side of Dalila's body is numb
and his left foot and hand are swollen, according to AI. The
SARG has offered to provide medical treatment, including
surgery, to Dalila, who insists on care independent of prison
authorities, according to family members of another jailed
activist, Kamal Labwani. Dalila, who is Alawite, was
sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in the
Damascus Spring movement, as opposed to others, such as
Labwani, who in 2001 received three- to five-year sentences.
Dalila, who also suffers from diabetes, is being held in
solitary confinement, according to AI. (Note. The SARG has a
sus tained history of treating Alawite dissenters with
disproportionate harshness as they are seen as traitors.)


5. (SBU) JAMMOUS TRIAL CONTINUES: On October 2, opposition
activist Fateh Jammous appeared in Criminal Court and told
the presiding judge that he had never seen the official

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charges against him. Jammous, nonetheless, offered a
statement in his own defense, which was eventually cut short
by the judge. The judge promised to issue her decision about
bail for Jammous within days. A verdict was expected in the
case at the next session scheduled for December 21. Jammous,
also an Alawite and head of the Communist Action Party, was
arrested May 1 at the Damascus Airport and first charged two
weeks later with encouraging sectarian civil war, which
carries a minimum life sentence. The charges were apparently
based on two public meetings Jammous held in Stockholm and
London with Syrian expatriates to discuss the situation in
Syria, according to a lawyer on Jammous' defense team. In
June, the charges against Jammous were reduced from a felony
to a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in prison.
(Note. Jammous has previously served 18 years detention as a
prisoner of conscience in Syria.)


6. (C) PALESTINIAN ACTIVISTS ARRESTED: Two Palestinian
members of Rased, a Palestinian human rights group based in
Sidon, Lebanon, were arrested September 26 and charged with
affiliation with an unlicensed organization, according to
regional media. Rased called upon the SARG to intervene with
its security agencies for the immediate release of Saher Ali
al-Salih and Samir Yusuf Bakkur, according to Al-Jazira,
citing a release from the human rights organization. Neither
the detainees nor their families had been in contact with
local human rights organizations in Damascus as of early
October, according to an Embassy FSN with excellent contacts
in the human rights community.


7. (SBU) KURDS RELEASED: Three Kurdish activists were
released in recent weeks, including writer Mohammed Ghanem,
who served out his six-month sentence for insulting President
Bashar al-Asad, according to press reports and local human
rights organizations. Also released was Hasan Abdo, an
engineering student who had served out his 2 1/2-year
sentence for inciting sectarianism in connection with the
March 2004 riots in Qamishli, according to a press release
from the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria
(NOHR). Finally, 65-year-old Abdo Khalaf Wallo was released
after 3 1/2 months in detention, due to his bad health
condition, according to the NOHR statement. There were no
further details about the reasons behind his arrest.


8. (C) Comment. Seif's presence at the Kurdish
demonstration was an interesting development. The full
significance of it is something we will report on as we
discuss it with our Kurdish contacts in the next week. Seif
is, however, making an effort to persuade leaders of the
Future Movement, and the Yekiti and Azadi parties to sign the
Damascus Declaration.
CORBIN