SEIDNAYA CONTINUES TO STIR FEARS AND CONSPIRACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000517

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2018
TAGS: PHUM PREL SY
SUBJECT: SEIDNAYA CONTINUES TO STIR FEARS AND CONSPIRACY
THEORIES

REF: DAMASCUS 482

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael Corbin for reasons 1.4 (a,b)


1. (C) Summary: Amid a wide range of sometimes contradictory
reports, a growing number of Embassy sources have indicated
the Seidnaya prison riots continue, despite the official
government statement to the contrary. Human rights activists
have conveyed deep concerns about reports of the alleged
violence, and some Syrians are accusing the government
security services of cracking down on Islamists and other
dissident groups in the prison. We have no evidence of
non-violent, established oppsition figures being caught up in
the riots, which involved Islamists and Kurds, including
other mainly Arabs (Jordanians). Continued media silence and
the SARG's closure of the area around the prison have
exacerbated concerns, especially as President Asad basks in
the glow of the European Mediterranean Summit in Paris. End
Summary.


Army Source Provides Additional Information
--------------


2. (C) An Army doctor told our political FSN on July 15 that
the hostage crisis and violence continues at Seidnaya.
Affirming what we reported earlier (reftel),this source said
inmates had executed a well-planned and organized assault on
a large group of Military Police trainees who were conducting
a sweep on July 5. After mediation efforts failed, Syrian
Military Intelligence (SMI) ordered a large-scale assault on
the prisoners, killing between 25-50 and injuring 108. The
doctor said he was still seeing new arrivals in nearby
Tishreen Hospital, and that some patients had been
transferred to hospitals in Damascus. (Note Following the
Seidnaya riots Tishreen hospital was closed to the public
with a defensive military perimeter 1km around the hospital.
One contact reported that as of July 15 the hospital was
reopened to the public.) Prior to the President's July 11
departure to Paris, Asad advised that there be no more
military assaults in the prison. Several efforts to mediate
a resolution have yielded some progress, but hostages remain.
Many in the military hierarchy, including SMI Chief Asef
Shawkat are reportedly trying to avoid blame.


Kuftaro Expresses Fears of a New Crackdown Against Sunnis
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3. (C) Sheikh Saleh Kuftaro (protect),a well-connected
Sunni Muslim and son of the former Grand Mufti of Syria, gave
us many of the same and some new details on the series of
events that occurred at the prison:

- Approximately 100 people were killed in the riots including
political inmates, army deserters, and prison guards.

- Military Police at the Seidnaya facilities were unarmed,
which led some in the Sunni community to allege that an
outside party smuggled weapons into the prison to facilitate
the riots. Kuftaro suggested that Shawkat may have been
involved to "get Bashar's hands dipped in blood," handling
the violence in the same manner as Bashar's uncle, Rifaat
Asad did during the supression of the Palmyra prison riots in
the 1980's.

-On Monday July 7, Islamist MP Mohammed Habash and another
cleric attempted to mediate, but the prisoners refused to
meet.

-Three days after the start of the uprising, President Asad
gave strict instructions to stop the riots, and said that the
issue should be treated peacefully regardless of how long it
would take.



4. (C) Kuftaro confirmed that the majority of the Seidnaya
prison population are Kurdish people who have not stood
trial, suspected Syrian Islamists, Jordanian Islamists, and
Maghreb Islamist nationals (around 20-25 people). According
to Kuftaro, the aforementioned prisoners led the riots, and a
Jordanian Islamist served as a negotiator on behalf of the
prisoners to the military. The primary demands of the
prisoners are to receive a fair trail, have lawyers
representing them, and to not suffer retaliatory punishment
for participation in the riots.


5. (C) Kuftaro cautioned that young Syrians suspected as
extreme Islamists "come in (to prison) as lambs and come out

DAMASCUS 00000517 002 OF 002


stubborn donkeys" and become more radicalized due to their
treatment and association with hardened Islamists and
criminals. To combat further radicalization of prison
inmates, Kuftaro said that he advised the security services
to counsel Islamist inmates by conducting dialogues and
turning them into moderate Islamists. Kuftaro said that of
4,000 Islamist inmates, 3,500 would accept guidance and could
be accepted back into the community, if the SARG were willing
to allow moderates (such as Kuftaro) to help "reintegrate"
them back into society.


"Guantanamo is a paradise compared to Seidnaya"
-------------- ---


6. (C) Fawaz Tello (strictly protect) a long-time human
rights and civil society contact, reported that Muslims were
"seething" over the treatment of Islamist prisoners in
Seidnaya. They blame SARG's perceived incompetence and
corruption as the main cause of the violence. He discussed
prison conditions and the possibility that the Seidnaya riots
began when Islamist prisoners responded to prison guards
defiling the Koran. (Comment: Other sources, such as the Army
doctor dismissed reports of defiling the Koran.) Tello said
the crackdown hearkened back to SARG operations against
Islamists and alleged members of the Muslim Brotherhood in
the 70s and 80s. Tello said conditions in Siednaya were awful
and commented that "Guantanamo is a paradise compared to the
maximum security parts of Seidnaya."



7. (C) Tello argued that Seidnaya offered Bashar an
opportunity to change the portfolio of Bashar's
brother-in-law Asef Shawkat, who was in charge of the SARG
response to the uprising. He reported that many families
with relatives in prison were openly criticizing the regime.
He recounted one anecdote of a family bringing their son to
Tishreen hospital to take SARG hostages as a way to ensure
their son inside Seidnaya was not killed.


Press Blackout Continues
--------------


8. (C) None of the Syrian or Syria-based regional press is
covering the Seidnaya story. Two other human rights contacts
say they have been threatened by state security services with
prison and or torture for speaking publicly about Seidnaya to
the media or other organizations outside of Syria.

Focus on Human Rights Diminishing
--------------


9. (C) Many of our contacts in the human rights community are
seeking a response by the international community through
prominent NGOs or foreign government's in condemnation of
the events of Seidnaya and calling for an international
investigation of the incident.



10. (C) Contacts in both the human rights and Muslim
community expressed great concern over the lack of dialogue
on human rights issues between Asad and Sarkozy during the
Mediterranean Summit. One contact posited the contrast
between the new perception of Syria highlighted by Bashar's
series of state visits culminating in his presence at the
July 12-13 Mediterranean Summit in Paris and the domestic
human rights situation and the violence in Seidnaya.



10. (C) Comment: On balance, the SARG's inability to regain
control over the Seidnaya prison reveals cracks within the
security service and has tarnished Bashar's image locally.
Even as the Syrian President returned July 15 from a PR
triumph in Paris, many Syrians were grumbling either about
the SARG's incompetence in managing the Seidnaya uprising or
the SARG's cruel mistreatment of inmates. While Bashar will
survive, heads will likely roll after the public's attention
has shifted. End Comment.
CORBIN