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