Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DAMASCUS272
2009-04-09 15:12:00
SECRET
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

FOR AILING RIAD SEIF, RIAD AL-TURK AND DAMASCUS

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PINR PREL SY 
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VZCZCXRO3920
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHDM #0272/01 0991512
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 091512Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6242
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
EUMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0590
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0674
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000272 

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR WALLER, LONDON FOR TSOU;
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/JOSEPH BARGHOUT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR PREL SY
SUBJECT: FOR AILING RIAD SEIF, RIAD AL-TURK AND DAMASCUS
DECLARATION CONTEMPLATE FULL COURT PRESS

REF: A. 07 DAMASCUS 01106

B. 08 DAMASCUS 00757

C. DAMASCUS 00148

Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000272

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR WALLER, LONDON FOR TSOU;
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/JOSEPH BARGHOUT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR PREL SY
SUBJECT: FOR AILING RIAD SEIF, RIAD AL-TURK AND DAMASCUS
DECLARATION CONTEMPLATE FULL COURT PRESS

REF: A. 07 DAMASCUS 01106

B. 08 DAMASCUS 00757

C. DAMASCUS 00148

Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Three members of the Damascus Declaration
Secretariat General met with PolEconoffs on April 6 to
register their concern over Riad Seif's declining health (ref
A). Seif, one of the most prominent leaders in the Damascus
Declaration movement and a cancer patient, is currently
serving a two-year prison sentence. The three men reported
the Damascus Declaration community was consulting Seif's
family on whether to initiate an international campaign
seeking Seif's release on humanitarian grounds. End Summary.


2. (C) Riad al-Turk (who spent 20 years in prison, most of it
in solitary confinement),Amin Obeidi, and Sheikh Nawaf
al-Bashir (strictly protect all) met with PolEconoffs on
April 6 for a wide-ranging discussion on civil society
issues. This cable reports on their remarks regarding Seif's
deteriorating health. The three men are part of the Damascus
Declaration's five-person Secretariat General Head Office.
The other two members, Riad Seif and Ali al-Abdallah, were
sentenced to two and a half years in prison this past October
(ref B).

--------------
SEIF's HEALTH IN DECLINE
--------------


3. (C) The three men reported that Riad Seif's had been
suffering severe pain for the past two weeks. Seif's most
recent blood test, the results of which were provided to Seif
on April 5, showed increased cancer indicators, according to
Turk. Seif, who suffers from prostate cancer, had undergone
emergency surgery in January and, according to Bashir, his
surgeon claimed to have removed all cancerous cells. Based
on the new blood work, however, Seif's surgeon feared the
cancer had metastasized, Bashir reported.

--------------
ACTIVISTS CONSIDER INTERNATIONAL APPEAL
--------------


4. (C) Based on this new information, Turk said, the Damascus
Declaration was poised to launch an international campaign
for Seif's release for humanitarian reasons. Before taking
any action, however, the three men were seeking consensus
among other members on this issue and were consulting closely
with the prisoner's families, especially his daughter, Jumana
Seif (strictly protect),to weigh the pros and cons of
raising an isolated case. Turk said that if they were to go
forward with the offensive, they hoped the U.S. would support
their effort in the form of a public statement from the State
Department and/or the White House.


5. (C) While adhering as a general principle to Damascus
Declaration solidarity, Seif and his family have until now
also resisted the one apparent path to release offered by the
SARG. During a February 21 dinner, visiting Senator John
Kerry raised Seif's health with President Bashar al-Asad.
Asad told Kerry that Seif had been informed that if he were
to send an appeal to Asad, Asad would consider humanitarian
release. The problem for Seif, as Kerry told the Charge, is
that Seif would have to acknowledge guilt in the charges on
which he was convicted.


6. (S) Should the Damascus Declaration begin a public push
for Seif's release on medical grounds, Post believes
consideration of a USG statement would be warranted. We are
cognizant, however, that a high-level statement focused on
Seif alone may box in the SARG and prove counterproductive to
the short-term goal of gaining Seif's release and the
long-term goal of freeing all prisoners of conscience. With
this concern in mind, we propose that, should the Damascus
Declaration make a public appeal on humanitarian grounds, the
Department--at whatever level it deems appropriate--should
publicly support that appeal on the same grounds.


7. (S) Post will follow up with Damascus Declaration National
Council and other contacts to confirm Seif's condition and

DAMASCUS 00000272 002 OF 002


his family's recommendations.
CONNELLY