Homsi Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Dissident Syrian parliament member Mamoun Homsi was sentenced to five years in prison on March 20 on charges of seeking to "change the constitution by illegal means," a euphemism for demanding greater political freedoms. He was also given three years in prison for obstruction of justice, six months for slandering the judiciary and legislature, and six months for slandering the government (since the sentences will be served concurrently, he faces five years in prison).

"Had there been democracy in Syria, I wouldn't have been standing here," Homsi declared after the sentence was read, adding that he was going to jail "for the sake of freedom." Homsi's lawyer, Anwar Al-Buni, who refused to attend the sentencing, said afterwards that "the verdict is illegal."

Another Syrian MP, Riyad Sayf is also being tried on similar charges in a civilian court. Eight other detainees, including Communist Party Political Bureau (CPPB) leader Riyad al-Turk and economist Aref Dalila, are awaiting trial on similar charges before the supreme state security court.

Assad Dismisses 23 Internal Security Officers

According to a March 6 report in the Lebanese daily Al-Safir, Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree dismissing 23 middle and high-ranking police officers for "behavioral violations." The report quoted "informed sources" as saying that the decree, which "did not come at the traditional dismissal time," affected "officers of ranks ranging from captain to brigadier-general, including sub-district directors and political security branch chiefs in Syrian governorates."

The decree follows a series of recent dismissals and appointments intended to strengthen Assad's control over the Interior Ministry (which oversees the civilian police) and enhance its power vis-à-vis the military-intelligence apparatus [see The Military-Intelligence Shakeup in Syria in the February 2002 issue of MEIB].

The new dismissals also appear to have been geared toward eliminating corruption in the internal security forces. Significantly, a disproportionately high number of the dismissed officers were stationed in the governorate of Suweida. In December 2000, Druze villagers in the region stormed municipal and provincial government offices, accusing local officials of tacitly condoning attacks by Bedouin tribesmen, with whom they allegedly had lucrative smuggling agreements [see Sectarian Violence Erupts in Suweida in the December 2000 issue of MEIB].

New Wave of Anti-Corruption Arrests, Firings

On March 11, the director-general of the Syrian Commercial Bank, Mahmoud Mithqal, was arrested on charges of financial misconduct. According to the state-run Syrian daily Tishreen, Mithqal lost $5 million of the bank's deposits through an investment in an "unreliable" foreign bank.

On the same day, the state-run daily Al-Baath reported that the director-general of Syrian Airlines had been fired.

On March 17, fifteen officials in the Ministry of Transport were arrested on charges of taking bribes. Included in the arrest sweep was the ministry's head official in Idlib, in northern Syria. In addition, two officials in the Ministry of Economy and ten officials in the Scientific Research Center have been fired for alleged corruption.

CIA Concerned about Syrian Nuclear "Intentions"

Speaking before a hearing of the International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services Subcommittee of the Senate Government Affairs Committee on March 11, CIA strategic and nuclear programs officer Robert Walpole said that the CIA remains "concerned about Syria's intentions regarding nuclear weapons." He also noted that "Syria has developed chemical warheads for its Scuds, and has an offensive biological weapons program."