RARE PUBLIC EXECUTION TAKES PLACE IN SYRIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 001073 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR JORDAN; LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SY SUBJECT: RARE PUBLIC EXECUTION TAKES PLACE IN SYRIA Classified By: A/DCM THOLMSTROM, for reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary. A rare public execution was carried out by a military field court on October 25 in Aleppo. According to press reports, the five convicts were common criminals accused of serious crimes including homicide in the course of robbery. Human rights activists took the opportunity to decry the military court,s involvement in civil affairs while European contacts say the EU is planning to make a statement denouncing the use of the death penalty in Syria. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On October 25, five convicted criminals were executed in public, according to local human rights contacts and local media sources. A military field court in Aleppo, acting on orders from the Central military court in Damascus, found the five defendants guilty of intentional homicide during the commission of a robbery. (Note: According to our sources, there were actually two separate incidents -- the first committed by two defendants in early June, and another crime committed by the other three in mid-July. There is no indication that the two incidents were related.) The Aleppo Military Field Court carried out the execution in the early morning hours of October 25 in Bab al-Fajr Square in central Aleppo, directly after handing down its decision without permitting the defendants to appeal the decision. Authorities left the bodies on display until later in the day. The defendants, aged 18-23, all allegedly committed their crimes in or around Aleppo. ¶3. (C) Human rights lawyers in Aleppo publicly criticized the decision saying that under the Syrian constitution, the military had no jurisdiction over crimes committed by civilians. Human rights lawyer Ahmad Manjounah used the executions to highlight how the 1963 emergency law allows military field courts to adjudicate civilian cases even though Syria has been at peace for nearly four decades. According to diplomatic contacts, the European troika, consisting of the German, French and EU ambassadors, plans to issue a public statement that condemns the use of the death penalty in Syria. It is unlikely, according to diplomatic contacts, that a statement will be issued before November 7. There has so far been no indication of when the statement will be issued. ¶4. (SBU) Comment. Public executions are extremely rare in Syria and are only used for the most serious crimes such as the July 9, 2006 execution of a man who kidnapped and killed a four-year-old child in al-Nashabiyya in rural Damascus. Indeed, the regime only uses public executions when it believes it needs to be seen as tough on crime and as the legitimate and exclusive provider of public safety and security. It would seem unlikely the regime would be deterred from re-asserting its raison d'tre by possible European condemnation. CORBIN