HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP: TAYYARA, ABDULLAH FREED;

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000686 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM SY SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP: TAYYARA, ABDULLAH FREED; RASTANAWI, MALEH, ABDULAZEEM TRIALS CONTINUE; LABWANI FAMILY EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION AT TRIAL STALLING REF: (A) DAMASCUS 00644 (B) DAMASCUS 00679 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4(b)/(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Human rights contacts report that Najati Tayyara and Omar Abdullah have been released following their February 14 detentions. Meanwhile, the wheels of Syrian justice continue to grind slowly in the cases of human rights activists Nizar Rastanawi, Haithem Maleh, and Hassan Abdulazeem, while the trial of 49 Kurds in Qamishli was also delayed. The family of Kamal Labwani expressed their frustration that Labwani's trial appears to have stalled in the investigative phase, while conditions at Adra prison deteriorate. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) TAYYARA, ABDULLAH RELEASED: Human rights contacts report that Najati Tayyara and Omar Abdullah have been released following their separate detentions on February 14 (ref A). Tayyara was released at approximately 4 PM on February 15. Embassy contact Ghimar Deeb related his conversation with Tayyara to Poloff, noting that the detention was based on Tayyara's failure to appear after receiving a summons from an unidentified security service branch one week earlier. Deeb noted that Tayyara said he had not received the summons. Mohammed Abdullah, Omar's brother, related to Poloff in a phone conversation the evening of February 15 that Omar had been released the night of February 14 and had been told that he must check in with the security service daily. ¶3. (C) CIVIL SOCIETY TRIALS CONTINUE: The trials of a number of civil society activists have also continued over the last several weeks. On February 5, Nizar Rastanawi's trial continued at the Supreme State Security Court. The prosecution presented two witnesses, both of whom Rastanawi said he did not know. Rastanawi's next court date is April ¶9. The trial of Haithem al-Maleh, prominent activist and founder of the Human Rights Association of Syria (HRAS), reconvened on February 9, with the presiding judge denying Maleh's request that former Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas appear as a witness. (NOTE: As Maleh's prosecution is based on a letter Maleh addressed to Bashar al-Asad demanding the abolishment of exceptional military field courts, Maleh requested that Tlas appear to discuss his statements made to a German magazine claiming he had signed off on the executions of hundreds of Syrians. END NOTE). Maleh's next court date is February 23. The trial of fellow Damascus Declaration signatory and opposition figure Hassan Abdulazeem continued February 12, with Abdulazeem (in the presence of another large crowd of supporters) delivering a fiery statement arguing against his prosecution. His next court date is March 16. ¶4. (C) KHAZNAWI RIOT TRIAL POSTPONED: The trial of approximately 49 Kurds who participated in demonstrations in June 2005 following the death of Sheikh Mashook Khaznawi was postponed on February 9 by the Qamishli branch of Military Court. The Kurds were freed on bail in August. Kurdish activists had planned a sit-in to coincide with the trial; however, according to Kurdish activist Luqman Ois, the sit-in did not take place due to the heavy presence of security service officers in the courthouse area. The next trial date remains to be determined. ¶5. (C) LABWANI FAMILY DISCUSSES FRUSTRATIONS, DETERIORATION IN PRISON CONDITIONS: Kamal Labwani's wife Sumer and their three teenage children expressed frustration with the lack of movement in her husband's case during a February 14 meeting with Poloff. Mrs. Labwani noted that the case file against her husband remains empty and that no evidence of perceived wrongdoing has been presented. She fears that the SARG is now looking to "catch" Labwani, making statements critical of the regime to fellow inmates. She noted that the SARG had used a similar tactic against the Damascus Spring detainees, recording their conversations with each other and later using the transcripts as evidence of anti-government activity. Mrs. Labwani encouraged continued international pressure in her husband's case, insisting that calls for his immediate release were helpful. ¶6. (C) Meanwhile, the conditions in Labwani's cell have deteriorated markedly in recent weeks. Mrs. Labwani noted that her husband's radio had been confiscated, that the number of inmates in his cell (built for 30 people) had risen from 40 to 70, and that he is still denied access to the prison library. She noted that he is frustrated, particularly that he does not have the peace and quiet necessary to continue his writing. She noted, however, that Labwani was in good physical condition and had not been beaten or tortured by prison authorities. As noted Ref B, she informed Poloff that she had been contacted by a Lebanese-American man named Dr. Billal who claimed that he and Labwani had been recently tortured but made clear that in her husband's case, this was not true. SECHE