By Warren Popp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria – On 16 June, Syrian journalist, Ali al-Abdallah, completed a two and half year prison sentence for “disseminating false information with the aim of harming the state,” for “membership of a secret organisation designed to destabilise the state,” and “inciting ethnic and racial tension.” He was sentenced, along with eleven others, for charges based on their calls for a radical shift in Syrian relations with Lebanon, as demonstrated by their support of the Damascus Declaration, a movement that is calling for peaceful and democratic change in Syria (Al-Abdullah had been elected to the secretariat of the Damascus Declaration Movement shortly before his arrest). However, shortly after he was set to be released, he was informed that new charges were being brought against him, and that he would therefore not be released.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the latest charges accuse al-Abdallah of “disseminating false information with the aim of harming the state and weakening national feelings,” and with “taking actions, producing writings or speeches not sanctioned by the government that would expose Syria to the danger of hostility, or harm its relationship with a foreign country, or expose Syrians to retaliation against them or their property.” These charges stem from an article al-Abdallah wrote about three months ago, while he was imprisoned in Syria, that was critical of Syria’s ties with Iran, and criticized the religious form of government advocated by Iranian Shiite leaders.
Calls both condemning the detention and calling for the release of al-Abdallah have come from numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On 23 June 2010, the prominent lawyer and head of the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights, Muhannad al-Hassani, was sentenced to a three year prison term under the same laws that were used to convict al-Abdallah and many other journalists and activists. Al-Hassani has represented numerous journalists and activists charged with crimes similar to that of al-Abdallah. According to Amnesty International, Al-Hassani had recently drawn public attention to both unfair trials of political prisoners before the Supreme State Security Court, and to a death that may have been caused by torture and ill treatment while in detention; he has allegedly held meetings with officials from foreign embassies to discuss human rights issues; and he has undertaken efforts to repeal the very law that was used to convict him. He is also the winner of the 2010 Martin Ennals Award, which recognizes the work of human rights defenders
The arrest and conviction has been condemned by numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, the Syrian Human Rights League, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights, and the National Organisation of Human Rights in Syria.
The arrest of al-Abdullah, al-Hassani, and other critics of the government are reportedly part of a broader campaign against political opponents that has intensified over the past two years. While several of the other people detained for being part of the Damascus Declaration Movement have recently been released, there are many other journalists and activists who are currently detained in Syria. Riad Seif, a well-known opposition figure who is ill with cancer, continues to be imprisoned despite calls by Western leaders to release him. In addition, the office of the Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression was closed and placed under seal in September 2009.
Reporters Without Borders notes that Syria was ranked 165th out of 179 countries in their 2009 press freedom index, and that President Bashar Al-Assad is on their Internet Enemies list, as well as their list of “Predators of Press Freedom.”
For more information, please see:
AFP – Syria Jails Award-Winning Lawyer: Rights Group – 23 June 2010.
Amnesty International – Syrian Human Rights Leader Jailed for Three Years – 23 June 2010
BBC – Syria Jails Leading Rights Lawyer – 23 June 2010
Committee to Protect Journalists – Syria Detains Journalist Beyond Sentence – 21 June 2010
Human Rights Watch – Syria: Political Detainee, Sentence Ended, Held on New Charges – 19 June 2010
International Free Expression Exchange – Authorities Refuse to Release Journalist on Completion of Sentence – 18 June 2010
Kaleej Times (U.A.E.) – Syrian Political Prisoner Re-Arrested on Release – 18 June 2010
Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Syrian Political Prisoner Re-Arrested on Release – 18 June 2010
Syrian Human Rights Committee – Detainee Ali al-Abdullah Transferred to SSSC Before Completion of His Sentence – 4 April, 2010
