Thursday, April 23, 2009
By PAUL TOOHER
Although the Syrian authorities have recently begun talking to the West, they are continuing to clamp down on freedom of expression, particularly when it comes to people who express dissident views online, according to civil rights groups.
The sentencing last month of a so-called “cyber dissident” — the latest in a series of people imprisoned for posting material online deemed critical of the authorities — is seen as a sign that controls have not been relaxed.
Habib Saleh, 62, a journalist, was given a three-year jail term after being convicted of “weakening national sentiment” and “broadcasting false or exaggerated news which could affect the morale of the country.” Although the Syrian constitution guarantees freedom of expression, most views are tightly controlled by the Baath regime, which imposed emergency martial law soon after it took power in the early 1960s.
Saleh, who does not belong to any political opposition group, was arrested in May 2008 after writing and publishing articles online in which he criticized Syria’s policies in the region and expressed support for prominent opposition figure Riad al-Turk.
A contributor to the Elaph.com site, which is based in London, Saleh was held for more than a year before his trial.
After the sentencing, the human-rights group Amnesty International called for Saleh’s release, arguing that he was being detained “solely for peacefully expressing his political views.” Saleh is the latest of at least five people, including poet Feras Saad and blogger Karem Arabji, to be jailed after posting material online, according to Reporters Without Borders.
In a report issued last month, the press freedom group branded Syria one of 12 countries it regards as “enemies of the Internet” because of its repressive policies toward Web users.
Online activities
The organization said that arrests linked to online activities are becoming more frequent in Syria and noted that more than 160 Web sites critical of the government are blocked.
“Every time a Syrian prisoner of conscience is sentenced, it is a sad day for us,” said Saleh’s lawyer, Muhannad al-Hasani.
Hasani said that during the trial, the defendant stressed his right to freedom of expression.
“All that I have is my pen. I have neither a militia nor weapons,” Saleh told the judge, according to his lawyer. “The situation in Syria is no longer acceptable in the modern day.” Saleh has been jailed five times before for voicing dissident views. In May 2005, he was imprisoned for three years as a result of articles published online.
The latest verdict against Saleh comes at a time when observers have been hoping Syria’s growing detente with the United States might lead to less restrictive practices in the country.
“I think any improvement in relations with the international community could lead to less repression by the regime,” said Syrian opposition figure Faeq al-Meir, who spent more than 10 years in jail for his political views and activities.
“The Syrian democratic movement should try to seize this opportunity and push for issues of freedoms and human rights to be placed at the top of the international community’s agenda when it is addressing Syria.” But a Damascus-based analyst, who asked that his name not be used out of concern for his security, said he doubted conditions would improve anytime soon inside the country.
He noted that Syrian authorities have historically refused to ease restrictions on political dissidents whatever the state of relations with the West.
He cited the arrest in 2001 of a number of dissidents for issuing the so-called Damascus Spring Declaration — a document that called for greater democracy.
The analyst said Western powers were more concerned with Syria’s role in the region than they were in advancing human rights in the country. In particular, he said, the West is anxious to see Syria suspend its support for militant groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as sever its close ties with Iran.
Damascus was not ready to change these policies without receiving guarantees and incentives from the West, he added.
Rapprochement
Still, the recent signs of a rapprochement with Western countries have raised hopes that some political prisoners could be released and media restrictions might be loosened.
The father of a young dissident who has been in prison for the last three years said a rumor had circulated among the parents of political prisoners that President Bashir al-Assad was going to release their sons under an amnesty. The amnesty was expected to take place on March 8, the anniversary of the 1963 Revolution in which the Baath party came to power.
But March 8 came and went and no one was granted amnesty.
X Paul Tooher is a Boston-based editor at large with The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization in London that trains journalists in areas of conflict. Material for this article was compiled by IWPR-trained journalists in Syria whose identities are withheld due to concerns for their security. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.