Far From Justice - Human Rights Watch

denies lawyers the opportunity to engage in oral defense on behalf of their clients, allowingthem to submit only written defense statements.Defendants have no right to appeal their verdict, a violation of Article 14(5) of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Syria is a state party. Bydecree, SSSC sentences are final but not enforceable until the President of the Republicratifies them. In practice, however, the Minister of Interior ratifies the verdicts.Criminalizing Freedom of ExpressionOf the 237 cases it is known to have decided since January 2007, the SSSC sentenced atleast 153 of the defendants on the basis of vague and overbroad offenses, such as “issuingcalls that awaken racial or sectarian tensions,” spreading “false or exaggerated informationthat weakens national sentiment,” or undertaking “acts that […] disrupt Syria’s ties toforeign states.” The Syrian government has long relied on such broadly worded “security”provisions in its penal code, primarily based on speech or writings, as its primarily lever tosilence critics, or perceived critics.Table 1. Common Charges Against Defendants in SSSC Cases (out of 237 cases triedbetween Jan. 2007 and June 2008)CriminalProvisionArticle 278 of thePenal CodeArticle 285 of thePenal CodeArticle 286 ofthe Penal CodeArticle 307 of thePenal CodeDescription of ProvisionUndertaking “acts, writings, or speechunauthorized by the government that exposesSyria to the danger of belligerent acts or thatdisrupt Syria’s ties to foreign states.”Issuing calls that “weaken national sentiment orawaken racial or sectarian tensions while Syria isat war or is expecting a war”spreading “false or exaggerated information thatweakens national sentiment while Syria is at waror is expecting a war”Undertaking “acts, writings or speech that incitesectarian, racial or religious strife”Number of caseswhere provisioninvoked34104693 Human Rights Watch February 2009