Syria again postpones trial of Michel Kilo, a dissident writer held for 10 months
March 5, 2007
International Herald Tribune
Original Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/05/africa/ME-GEN-Syria-Political-Detainee.php

Syria on Monday again delayed the trial of a prominent dissident writer who has spent 10 months in detention, a Syrian human rights group said.
The case of Michel Kilo and three other activists was postponed to March 27, the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria said in a statement. The organization has been following the prosecution of Kilo and that of other democracy campaigners detained in Syria.
There was no immediate word from the Syrian authorities, which rarely comments on the detention and prosecution of suspects wanted in political cases.
Kilo has long been an outspoken critic of the Syrian government, which tightly controls national politics and often arrests its critics. He has called for reform and has criticized the government's involvement in its smaller neighbor, Lebanon.
He was arrested last May after signing a petition that called on Syria to improve relations with Lebanon, which deteriorated after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Syria has denied involvement in the killing, but many Lebanese blame the Damascus government.
A court ordered Kilo's release on bail in October. His family paid the bail, but prosecutors brought new charges against him and he remained in prison.
His trial began on Oct. 31, but was promptly postponed and has been delayed several times subsequently.
Kilo appeared at Monday's court session, but the session was postponed upon orders of the attorney general for reasons that were not clear.
The NOHR statement said the trials of Mahmoud Issa, Khalil Hussein and Suleiman Shummar — who were also detained in May after signing the petition — were also postponed until March 27.
Issa, a translator, is in custody while Shummar and Hussein are at large. They were released from jail in Sept. 2006 but a new arrest warrant has been issued against them on Oct. 2006.
In a separate statement, NOHR said Monday that the State Security court has sentenced eight members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood to jail terms of up to 10 years. The eight were arrested in early 2004 and charged with having ties with the group and possession of banned books and tapes, presumable related to the organization's work.
Again, there was no confirmation of the sentences from the authorities.
Ammar Qurabi, who heads the human rights group, condemned the verdicts as outrageous.
Qurabi urged the government to release all political detainees. He also called for the abrogation of the emergency laws, in force in the country since 1963, and the disbandment of the State Security Court, whose decisions cannot be appealed.