Damascus criminal court lets cyber-dissident Habib Saleh defend himself

Detained writer and cyber-dissident Habib Saleh was allowed to defend himself during a hearing before a Damascus criminal court yesterday. He called for the repeal of the state of emergency law under which he is accused and insisted that he had committed “no crime” other than express his views, “a right guaranteed by the Syrian constitution,” he said. Another hearing has been set for 25 March. Arrested on 7 May 2008 in a souk in the northwestern city of Tartus, 61-year-old Saleh is charged with “spreading false information liable to weaken national sentiment and cause sectarian and racial strife”, “sedition with the aim of stirring up sectarian conflicts” and “defaming the president.” He faces the possibility of being sentenced to forced labour for life. He wrote regularly for Elaph (http://www.elaph.com), a pan-Arab news website that is censored in Syria because of its outspoken style of news reporting. Saudi Arabia stopped blocking access to Elaph on 19 February. ------------------------ 21.01 - Outrage at latest trial postponement for cyber-dissident held since last May Reporters Without Borders condemns the postponement of jailed cyber-dissident Habib Saleh's trial again yesterday, this time until 8 February. Saleh has been held in Adra prison, 40 km north of Damascus, since 5 May on a range of charges including spreading false information, inciting civil war and attacking the president. He still does not know when he can expect to be freed. “We are outraged by what is going on,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Are the authorities dragging out the trial in order to silence Saleh for as long as possible? The dates of the hearings are set in a summary fashion and no date has been given for the trial's conclusion. The delays are turning the trial into a farce.” The press freedom organisation added: “Saleh already spent more than three years in prison in the past. This is the third time he has been tried for expressing his views online since Bashar el Assad became president in 2000. We demand his release.” Only two of the 40 lawyers defending Saleh attended yesterday's hearing in Damascus, during which nothing of substance took place. Saleh has continued to plead innocent to the charges since the first court hearing, held behind closed doors on 11 November. Aged 61, Saleh is charged with “spreading false information liable to weaken national sentiment and cause sectarian and racial strife” under article 285 of the criminal code, “inciting a civil and sectarian war” under article 298 and “attacking the president” under articles 374 and 277. He could get a sentence of three to 15 years in prison or even forced labour for life. Reporters Without Borders has meanwhile received news of the three cyber-dissidents held in Saydnaya prison, 30 km north of Damascus. The organisation's secretary-general, Jean-François Julliard, mentioned their case in a 2 December letter to President Assad condemning his silence and inaction in the face of an increase in arrests and convictions of journalists and cyber-dissidents. “We have had no information about Firas Saad, Tariq Biassi and Kareem Arbaji since last July's deadly clashes between inmates and guards in this prison,” Julliard wrote. “Their relatives and their lawyers are still being prevented from visiting them. We remind you that family visits are one of the basic rights of detainees.” A young Kurd who has just been released from Saydnaya prison told Reporters Without Borders that “the bloggers are all right.” Asking to be identified simply as “Zennar,” he said: “No prisoner has been mistreated by the prison authorities, not even during the incidents. The prison's management ensured that the bloggers are protected and put them in the same cell.” Five cyber-dissidents are currently detained in Syria because of what they posted online. A group of seven young activists has also been held in Saydnaya prison for nearly three years for creating an online discussion group and posting articles. They include Omar Abdallah, the son of Syrian journalist Ali Abdallah, who was held for six months in 2006 for criticising the government, above all in an article describing the Syrian economy as “weak.”