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Damascus Declaration Trial a Transparent Bid to
Silence Critics
(Damascus, October 30, 2008) – Syria’s sentencing
of a dozen leading democracy advocates to more than
two years in prison is the latest evidence of
Syria’s repression of opposition groups, Human
Rights Watch said today.
The democracy activists, including doctors,
lawyers, writers, and an artist, were sentenced on
October 29, 2008 to 30 months in prison on
politically motivated charges.
Human Rights Watch attended the sentencing session
and called for President Bashar al-Assad to
immediately quash the convictions and order the
prisoners’ release.
In a sentencing session that barely lasted 20
minutes, the First Damascus Criminal Court,
presided over by Muhieldeen Hallaq, convicted the
12 activists on vaguely defined charges of
“weakening national sentiment” and “spreading false
or exaggerated news which would affect the morale
of the country.” The authorities had detained the
democracy activists, including former member of
parliament Riad Seif, after they participated in a
meeting last December of the National Council of
the Damascus Declaration for Democratic Change, an
umbrella group of opposition and pro-democracy groups.
Founded in 2005, the Damascus Declaration is a
coalition of political parties and independent
activists whose stated goal is to build internal
support for peaceful democratic change in Syria.
“In a transparent bid to silence its critics, the
government is jailing democracy activists for
simply attending a meeting,” said Sarah Leah
Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights
Watch. “The trial was a mere cover to legitimize
the government’s repression of opposition groups
and peaceful critics.”
Human Rights Watch said that the detention and
trial of the activists was marred from the
beginning. Syrian security forces held the
activists initially for up to 40 days in
incommunicado detention. Eight of the 12 detainees
told the investigative judge that State Security
officials beat them during their interrogation and
forced them to sign false statements “confessing”
that they planned to take money from foreign
countries in order to divide the country by giving
the Kurds a separate state. One of the detainees,
`Ali al-Abdullah, suffered injury to his ear as a
result of the beating he endured. The court did not
order any independent investigation regarding the
allegations of ill-treatment.
During the trial, the activists confirmed their
involvement in the Damascus Declaration, but
pleaded not guilty and denied the charges against
them. In their defense session on September 24, the
defendants expressed doubts about the trial since
it was their “freedom of expression that was on
trial.” Another detainee, Walid al-Bunni, a
physician, told the court during his defense that
“getting into the details of my defense is useless,
but I will ask: what is the basis of the accusations?”
One of the defense lawyers told Human Rights Watch
that the defense team will likely appeal the
sentence within the required 30 days. He summarized
the judgment by saying “membership in the Damascus
Declaration is now criminalized.” The wife of one
of the sentenced detainees who had been jailed in
the past for his activism expressed her disgust at
the trial. “We don’t know what to feel anymore. I
don’t care if the sentence is for 2.5 years or 10
years. My husband should not be in jail in the
first place.”
Syria has a long record of prosecuting political
activists who peacefully express their opinions. On
May 13, 2007, the Second Damascus Criminal Court
sentenced four prominent activists, including
prominent writer Michel Kilo and political activist
Mahmud `Issa, to periods varying from three to 10
years in prison for “weakening national sentiment”
after they signed a declaration calling for
improved Lebanese-Syrian relations.
Syrian security services have a significant
influence in the trials of political activists,
whether before the criminal courts or exceptional
courts. While they often exercise such influence
behind closed doors, in some instances evidence has
emerged in public, as in the 2007 trial of Dr.
Kamal al-Labwani, founder of the Democratic Liberal
Gathering. In that trial, the head of National
Security sent a letter to the Minister of Justice
asking him to charge Labwani with “communicating
with a foreign country and inciting it to initiate
aggression against Syria” even though the
prosecutor had not initially included such a
charge. The court ended up sentencing Labwani to 12
years in jail under a charge that was added at the
request of National Security.
Background on the ‘Damascus Declaration’ and
Syria’s crackdown on critics
The Damascus Declaration for Democratic National
Change (“Damascus Declaration”) is a coalition of
political parties and independent Syrian activists
created in October 2005. It consists of individuals
and groups from different political backgrounds
(Arab Nationalists, Kurds, liberals, leftists,
Islamists) who issued a statement of principles,
including the establishment of democracy in Syria,
lifting of the state of emergency, protection of
minority rights, release of all political
prisoners, abolition of Law No. 49 (which makes
membership in the Muslim Brotherhood punishable by
death), and upholding of international human rights
standards.
The National Council was established as a follow-up
body for the Damascus Declaration. On December 1,
2007, more than 163 activists from the Damascus
Declaration held a meeting to elect the leadership
of the National Council. They elected as president
Dr. Feda’ al-Hurani, a physician and daughter of
Akram al-Hurani, a prominent Syrian politician who
was highly influential in Syrian politics from the
beginning of the 1940s until his exile in 1963.
Starting on December 9, 2007, Syrian security
services began a crackdown on individuals who
attended the meeting, arresting more than 40. While
they released most without charge within a few
days, they kept 12 members in detention and
referred them to trial. These 12 are:
1. Walid al-Bunni, 44, physician;
2. Yasser al-`Eiti, 40, physician and poet;
3. Feda’ al-Hurani, 51, physician;
4. Akram al-Bunni, 51, writer;
5. Ahmad To`meh, 51, dentist;
6. Jabr al-Shufi, 60, Arabic-literature teacher;
7. `Ali al-`Abdullah, 58, writer;
8. Fayez Sarah, 58, writer and journalist;
9. Muhammad Hajji Darwish, 48, businessman;
10. Marwan al-`Ush, 52, engineer;
11. Riad Seif, 61, former member of parliament; and,
12. Talal Abu Dan, 55, artist and sculptor
Article 38 of Syria’s Constitution guarantees the
right of every citizen to “freely and openly
express his views in words, in writing, and through
all other means of expression.” As a party to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, Syria has an international obligation to
uphold the rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly as well as the right to a
fair trial.
Quotes from the defendants during their September
24 defense session
“I am not optimistic for the judgment … as I think
that we are not being tried by this court, but from
a power that relies on the state of emergency and
the security services.”
– Riad Seif, 61, former member of parliament
“To end the state of emergency and the martial
courts and to improve public freedoms – especially
freedom of expression – are necessary conditions to
improve the living situation of the Syrian citizen.”
– Dr. Feda’ al-Hurani, 51, physician
“I was tried for political reasons before. But this
trial is different, because it is a trial of
individuals who wanted to exercise their right to
express their mind.”
– Akram al-Bunni, 51, writer
“Our arrest and trial is the best indication of the
authorities’ refusal of any peaceful and gradual
reforms required to resolve Syria’s problems.”
– `Ali al-`Abdullah, 58, writer
“The right to freedom of expression is a sacred
right, and to give it up is to give up one’s
humanity, and I defend my right and the right of
any Syrian citizen in his freedom of expression.”
– Yasser al-`Eiti, 40, physician and poet
“The heart of this case is whether the authorities
will accept the culture of dialogue and recognize
different opinions.”
– Jabr al-Shufi, 60, Arabic-literature teacher
“It is difficult today to judge someone for his
thoughts after democracy has become the way to
determine people’s opinions and ideas.”
– Ahmad To`meh, 51, dentist
“Getting into the details of my defense is useless,
but I will ask: what is the basis of the accusations?”
– Walid al-Bunni, 44, physician
“This is a trial of thoughts and concepts more than
a trial of individuals. I don’t see that this court
is trying me – rather it is trying every free mind
in this country.”
– Talal Abu Dan, 55, artist and sculptor
“Even though I know that the court is not neutral,
I say: any judgment is akin to a medal on my chest
that I gift to my sons. Therefore I do not ask for
clemency but for justice.”
– Muhammad Hajji Darwish, 48, businessman
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