Summary and Current Status On June 17, 2010, upon completion of his 30-month prison term, Syrian medical doctor Walid al-Bunni was released from ’Adra Prison. A prominent Syrian dissident, Dr. al-Bunni was arrested on December 17, 2007. In late January 2008, numerous charges (see background for list) were brought against him, all of which stemmed from his involvement in peaceful political activities as a member of the general secretariat of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change(DDDNC)—an umbrella organization comprised of representatives of opposition political parties and pro-democracy groups in Syria. On October 29, 2008, following Criminal Court proceedings that failed to meet international fair trial standards, he was convicted on all charges and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Amnesty International adopted him as a “prisoner of conscience” and called for his unconditional release. In early May 2009, while he was serving his sentence in ’Adra Prison, additional charges were brought against Dr. al-Bunni based on another inmate’s claim that he had made statements critical of Syria. Following a trial, a military court judge issued a ‘not guilty’ verdict on June 17, 2009. The CHR adopted Dr. al-Bunni’s case in 2001. He previously served all but seven months of a five-year prison term for his peaceful calls for political and economic reform in his country and was released on January 18, 2006.
Background Dr. al-Bunni is an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He is married and the father of three children. When Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father in mid-2000, he spoke in his inaugural address of the necessity of reform and constructive criticism. For about a year, generally referred to as the “Damascus Spring,” Syrian authorities tacitly allowed a margin of freedom of expression. In 2001, Dr. al-Bunni helped to launch the independent Syrian Human Rights Society. According to reports by the Lebanese daily as-Safir, he also joined more than one thousand other public figures—academics, artists, and professionals—in signing a statement urging President al-Assad to introduce political reforms, including democratic elections, an independent judiciary, and equal standing for women in Syrian society. During the Damascus Spring, a loose network of Syrian intellectuals and businessmen began to hold forums where public affairs and political and cultural issues were discussed. In February 2001, as the political forums reportedly gained popularity, the Syrian authorities began to require that their organizers obtain official permission before a forum could be held. That same month independent parliamentarian Riad Seif, the leader of the National Dialogue Forum, applied for official permission to hold a forum. After trying for seven months, without success, to obtain permission, MP Seif held the forum at his home on the outskirts of Damascus on September 5, 2001. Dr. al-Bunni was one of more than 400 people who reportedly attended and listened to guest speaker Professor Burhan Ghalyun, a sociologist from the Sorbonne University in Paris, lecture on the need for radical political change, the creation of a multi-party system, and an end to martial law. Four days later, on September 9, 2001, Dr. al-Bunni was arrested at his home in Damascus by members of the Political Security Department Forces (al-Amn al-Siyassi). He was one of a group of ten prominent leaders of Syrian civil society who were arrested by military intelligence in August and September 2001. Of this group, the CHR also undertook the cases of ’Aref Dalila and Fawwaz Tello. According to Amnesty International (AI), after his arrest, Dr. al-Bunni was taken to ’Adra prison and initially held incommunicado and in solitary confinement, before gaining access to his lawyers and being allowed family visits. In March 2002, Dr. al-Bunni and several of the others who were detained with him went on hunger strike. A statement by the prisoners' wives said that the men were protesting their unjustified detention and limited access to legal counsel and demanding better health care. In late June 2002, AI reported that the men were no longer on hunger strike. On May 9, 2002, eight months after his arrest, Dr. al-Bunni was brought before the Syrian State Supreme Security Court (SSSC) for the beginning of his trial. It was only then that he was informed that he had been charged with “attempting to change the constitution by illegal means, inciting armed rebellion, and spreading false information about the government.” Although the prosecution reportedly failed to produce any credible evidence to support the charges, Dr. al-Bunni was convicted by the SSSC on July 31, 2002. He was sentenced to five years in prison, which included time already spent in detention. According to AI, the SSSC lacks both independence and impartiality, and “trials before the SSSC breach international fair trial standards and fail to meet the requirements of Syria’s own laws or conform with practices in Syria’s ordinary courts.” Defendants’ lawyers reportedly are not free to meet their clients in detention without written permission from the president of the SSSC, which is often withheld. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), lawyers of defendants tried by the SSSC are not guaranteed access to clients prior to trial, trial proceedings begin before lawyers have had an opportunity to see the case files, and the court often denies lawyers the opportunity to engage in oral arguments on behalf of their clients. Furthermore, SSSC judgments are not subject to appeal before a higher authority, constituting a violation of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, which Syria has ratified. contrary to articles 9, 10, 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9, 14, 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and falls within categories II and III of the principles applicable to the consideration of cases submitted to the Working Group. Consequently, the Working Group requests the Government to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation of the above-mentioned persons by bringing it into conformity with the standards and principles set forth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. AI considered Dr. al-Bunni to be a prisoner of conscience and, along with other international human rights groups, called for his unconditional release. Dr. al-Bunni served all but seven months of his five-year sentence. He was subjected to harsh conditions of confinement, including extended periods in solitary confinement. He was unexpectedly released from prison on January 18, 2006. On December 1, 2007, Dr. al-Bunni was one of a group of 163 individuals who attended the first meeting of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC). The National Council of the DDDNC is an umbrella organization comprised of representatives of Syria’s opposition political parties and pro-democracy groups. The Syrian government considers it to be an illegal organization. National Council members reportedly are from every Syrian province and from every sect, ethnic group and political leaning, including leftists, liberals, conservatives, Kurds, and moderate Islamists. The DDDNC, often referred to as the Damascus Declaration, is a document—first made public on October 16, 2005—that calls for the establishment of a democratic system in Syria that respects citizens’ rights, ensures freedom of speech and association, and ends discrimination based on religious or political beliefs. The National Council members elected Dr. al-Bunni and 16 others to serve on its general secretariat. More than 50 people who attended the first meeting of the National Council of the DDDNC were subsequently arrested, including Dr. al-Bunni. He was arrested by members of the State Security Service on December 17, 2007, on the street near his clinic in the town of al-Tal on the outskirts of Damascus. Although most of those arrested were held without charge for a couple of days and then released, Dr. al-Bunni and several others were held in incommunicado detention at the State Security branch in Damascus for about a month and a half. On January 28, 2008, amidst tight security, Dr. al-Bunni and several other National Council members appeared before a criminal court at the Palace of Justice in Damascus headed by Investigating Judge Muhammad Subhi al-Sau’r in case number 1738. They reportedly were questioned for about four hours and arraigned on charges brought against them under Syria’s Penal Code by the public prosecutor. The charges included “weakening national sentiments and awakening racism and sectarianism” (Article 285), “broadcasting false or exaggerated news which would affect the morale of the country” (Article 286), joining an “organization formed with the purpose of changing the financial or social status of the state” (Article 304 and 306), “carrying out acts or writing material the aim of which is to inflame sectarian or racist feelings or to provoke conflict between the sects and the rest of the nation” (Article 307), and “joining a secret organization (Article 327). According to Article 327: An organization is secret if its aims are deemed illegal and if it conducts its business in total or partial secrecy. An organization is secret if it is proved that its aims are contrary to the law and it did not inform the authorities, after it had been told to do so, or if it offered false or incomplete information on the following: its by-laws, the names of its members, the job descriptions of its members, the subject of its meetings, the source of its funding, and a break-down of its assets. According to Khalil Maatuk, one of the defense lawyers, Dr. al-Bunni and the other defendants denied all of the charges brought against them. Reports indicate that the court proceedings that day failed to conform to international standards for a free and fair trial in a number of substantive ways. Defense lawyers reportedly were prohibited from speaking to their clients during the proceedings. The judge did not permit the lawyers to obtain a copy of the list of charges leveled against their clients. The judge reportedly ordered pre-trial detention, and Dr. al-Bunni was transferred to ’Adra Prison in a suburb of Damascus, where he remained for the duration of his imprisonment. Subjected to harsh conditions of confinement, he reportedly was forced to sleep in a corridor for nine days without bedding or adequate covering, at a time when the temperature fell below freezing at night. The trial of Dr. al-Bunni and his co-defendants began on July 16, 2008, in a Damascus criminal court. Reports indicate that the trial was attended by friends and family of the defendants and several observers from European embassies. According to the Syrian Human Rights Observatory, the defendants explained that the aim of the “national assembly meeting on December 1, 2007, was the peaceful and calm democratic transformation … and that they are not seeking power” and stressed that the group did not act in secret, but rather made public statements. At the session on September 24, 2008, when the case was made for the defense, Human Rights Watch quoted Dr. al-Bunni as saying: “Getting into details of my defense is useless, but I will ask: what is the basis of the accusations?” The court issued its guilty verdict on October 29, 2008, and sentenced Dr. al-Bunni and his co-defendants to 30-month prison terms. Shortly after Dr. al-Bunni’s conviction and sentencing, his lawyer reportedly presented a formal appeal before Syria’s Supreme Court (criminal room). More than eight months later, on July 14, 2009, that court issued a ruling denying the appeal and confirming his 30-month prison sentence. Meanwhile, in early May 2009, while Dr. al-Bunni was in prison serving his sentence and awaiting word on the outcome of his appeal, additional charges were filed against him under Articles 285 and 286 of Syria’s Penal Code for “weakening the national sentiment” and “broadcasting false or exaggerated news which would affect the morale of the country.” These charges stemmed from accusations made by another inmate in ’Adra Prison, who reported Dr. al-Bunni had told him that Iran was exerting influence on Syria and Syria had contributed to a political crisis in Lebanon. The inmate, Mr. Ashour Oqba, and nine defense witnesses testified during Dr. al-Bunni’s trial before the Second Military Criminal Court in Damascus. On June 17, 2009, during a session of the court attended by a number of diplomats, the judge, Brigadier General Mohammad Abu Zaid, cited the lack of credible evidence and declared Dr. al-Bunni not-guilty. On July 28, 2009, Dr. al-Bunni’s lawyer, Muhannad al-Hassani, was arrested by Syrian State Security. Prior to Mr. al-Hassani’s arrest state security officials had summoned him for questioning on several occasions. The questioning reportedly centered on his human rights work, including his defense of political detainees. Three days after his arrest, Mr. al-Hassani was charged with “weakening national sentiments” and “spreading false news.” On June 23, 2010, following Criminal Court proceedings that failed to meet international fair trial standards, he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. Amnesty International considers him to a “prisoner of conscience,” who is unjustly imprisoned because of his legitimate human rights work on behalf of Dr. al-Bunni and other clients.
As noted above, during his second prison term AI considered Dr. al-Bunni to be a “prisoner of conscience” and called for his unconditional release on the grounds that he was detained solely for peacefully exercising his fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly. This view was widely shared within the international community. Dr. al-Bunni served his second 30-month prison term in its entirety. He was released from ’Adra Prison on June 17, 2010. Shortly after his release, in a statement to his associates, Dr. al-Bunni wrote: Our return to freedom and to the clean fresh air outside prison walls is something very touching. I will now focus on my family stability and I will be near my children, especially since one of my sons is a student in secondary school. | Related Links |
