ARRESTS AND POLITICAL TRIALS SURROUND THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000254 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR WALLER; LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SY SUBJECT: ARRESTS AND POLITICAL TRIALS SURROUND THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTIONS REF: A. 06 DAMASCUS 01920 ¶B. 06 DAMASCUS 02318 Classified By: A/DCM William Roebuck, for reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On March 10, several prominent dissidents, including former MP and political prisoner Riad Seif, were detained when they attempted to protest the 44th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency Law in Syria. Meanwhile, the political trial of Michel Kilo formally commenced while that of Anwar al-Bunni appears to be headed toward a conclusion. The detentions and trial developments coincide with President Asad,s March 7 announcemet that parliamentary elections will take place April 22-23. The timing of the events may indicate the SARG is trying to clear its docket and sideline potential objects for negative press coverage before elections get underway. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Prominent opposition leader and former MP Riad Seif was detained for several hours on March 10 along with 36 other dissidents who attempted to protest the 44th anniversary of the establishment of martial law in Syria. (Note: The anniversary is a national holiday and the SARG refers to the event as the glorious March 8 Revolution when the Ba,ath party seized power. Since that time the Ba'athists have ruled by Emergency Law, which effectively suspends any constitutionally enshrined rights or legal protections for Syrians. End Note.) Others detained include Riad Seif,s daughter, Jumana Seif, Hind Labwani (daughter of jailed political reformer Kamal Labwani),and Suheir Atassi, head of the banned Atassi Forum for Democratic Dialogue. According to a western journalist who was present, the police quickly detained any dissident they recognized and herded them into a police vehicle. As a result the small protest consisting largely of opposition figures was quickly disbanded. The western journalist said that the protest, scheduled for 1:00pm, was completely dispersed by 1:15pm. Civil society activist, Daad Mousa told Poloff that the police drove all the dissidents about 50 km outside of Damascus and let them out by the side of the highway in groups of four or five every two to three kilometers. The would-be protesters then had to find their own way back into Damascus. ¶3. (SBU) After a brief session on March 11, the on-going trial of imprisoned human rights lawyer and civil society activist Anwar al-Bunni was ordered to resume on March 20, at which time the defense is expected to summarize its case. The short gap between court sessions caused some consternation among defense lawyers and other dissidents present at the trial who felt that the nine days given by the judge to the defense would be insufficient to conclude their arguments. Additionally, some of the human rights and civil society activists present believed that the judge's instruction to the defense to conclude their case may indicate that a verdict will soon be rendered. ¶4. (C) The SARG prosecution is focusing on the charge that Bunni, "spread false information in an attempt to weaken the nation." Specifically, the charges stem from the allegation that Bunni told a foreign media organization that Muhammed Shaher Haysa was tortured to death by the Syrian security services (Ref A). To combat the charges defense lawyer Khalil Matook plans to demonstrate that Haysa was indeed tortured. Therefore, to prove the torture Matook moved that the court allow the defense to present witnesses. In particular, Matook wants to call the family of Haysa to testify that he was tortured and later died. The defense plans to demonstrate that Bunni did not spread false information because there is significant evidence that Haysa was tortured. First and foremost among the evidence is Haysa's body, which was turned over to his family after his death. According to the Haysa family and human rights organizations, the body exhibited signs of sustained torture. (Note: It is doubtful the court will allow such evidence. End Note.) ¶5. (SBU) On March 5, after months of delay, the trial of Damascus-Beirut Declaration signees Michel Kilo and Mahmoud Issa officially started. (Note: The Damascus-Beirut Declaration, as reported in Ref B, calls for better relations between Lebanon and Syria and was signed by nearly 300 intellectuals and activists in both countries. End Note.) During the court appearance, Kilo and Issa stated they signed DAMASCUS 00000254 002 OF 002 the Damascus-Beirut Declaration and defended its principles but steadfastly denied prosecution assertions that they did so because they were partisans of the Lebanese March 14 movement. The day after the court session, March 6, the SARG brought new charges against Kilo and Issa for "provoking social conflict under Article 150 of the Military Penal Code of Syria," which carries a maximum sentence of five years. Human rights activists believe the additional charges are the result of Kilo and Issa,s public support of the Damascus-Beirut Declaration in court. Consequently, Kilo and Issa now face two separate sets of charges in two courts; one military and the other criminal. The criminal trial of Kilo and Issa will resume March 27. No date has been set for the military trial as of yet. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The unusually short time between court sessions in Bunni's case and the starting of the Kilo and Issa trials after months of delays seem to indicate that the regime wants to wrap up its existing high-profile political trials before parliamentary elections begin in April. Likewise, the SARG's new catch and release policy used with the March 10 protesters could suggest the SARG does not want to start any new political trials. According to local civil society activists, it is unusual for the regime not to jail protesters; leaving them by the side of the road is a completely new tactic. In any event, it would appear that the SARG has found a new sense of urgency with regard to completing ongoing political trials on the one hand and a desire to quietly deal with new political agitation on the other. The timing of these events may indicate SARG sensitivities about having such trials (or new ones) linger into the heart of the parliamentary elections campaign in April, provoking potentially embarrassing press coverage. CORBIN