The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Damascus has initiated public criminal lawsuits against political and media figures following complaints filed by Syrian lawyer Basel Saeed Manee, while the Syrian Lawyers Syndicate has tasked lawyers with submitting similar complaints.
Manee told Enab Baladi on Sunday, 23 November, that the Public Prosecutor in Damascus has moved public criminal lawsuits against Lebanese politician Wiam Wahhab, Syrian activist Ghada al-Shaarani, Lebanese nun Agnes Mariam of the Cross, and Tunisian Lebanese journalist Ghassan bin Jiddo, in their personal capacities, based on complaints he submitted to the Public Prosecutor in Damascus.
According to Manee, the cases related to Wahhab, Agnes, al-Shaarani, and bin Jiddo now have files and are currently before investigating judges at the Palace of Justice in Damascus.
He also explained that he has submitted similar complaints to the Public Prosecutor in Damascus against Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Suwayda province (in southern Syria), Syrian journalist Maher Sharafeddine, and Syrian activist and journalist Nidal Maalouf, in their personal capacities, for review ahead of the Public Prosecutor potentially initiating public criminal lawsuits against them.
Manee had previously filed complaints against figures such as former Arab Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab and nun Agnes Mariam of the Cross, on charges related to state security or defamation, and accused Agnes of falsifying facts and defaming the victims of the chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta in 2013.
Syrian Lawyers Syndicate president tasks lawyers with filing complaints
Mohammad Ali al-Tawil, head of the Syrian Lawyers Syndicate, told Enab Baladi that he has instructed a number of lawyers to submit complaints to the Public Prosecutor in Damascus against Wiam Wahhab, Ghada al-Shaarani, Agnes Mariam of the Cross, Ghassan bin Jiddo, Hikmat al-Hijri, Maher Sharafeddine, and Nidal Maalouf, all in their personal capacities.
He added that on 23 November he also instructed lawyer Rached Abduljalil to file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor in Damascus against actor Jalal Shammout and director Eiad Charbaji.
“With regard to matters that affect state security or its symbols, the Syrian Lawyers Syndicate is supposed to move against those who attack the state and not allow anyone to assault it, not only in our capacity as a Syrian Lawyers Syndicate but also as citizens and revolutionaries,” he said.
Not all of the individuals targeted by these lawsuits have taken part in actions against the state, and some are better known for their persistent criticism of the new authorities and officials in Syria.
Most of the names, foremost among them Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, are associated with clear positions calling for separation from Syria and protection from Israel, and with support for armed formations in Suwayda, which witnessed deadly events last July.
Events in Suwayda began with clashes between local factions and Bedouin tribes, after which Syrian army and security forces intervened and committed violations in Suwayda, met with resistance from local factions and Israeli airstrikes.
Once government forces withdrew, local factions carried out retaliatory violations against Bedouin residents of the province.
Syrian Lawyers Syndicate moves against those who “oppose the state”
The Syrian Lawyers Syndicate president said it is natural for the Syndicate, as a legal entity, to act against those he described as people who oppose the state or the government or any figure seen as symbolic for Syrians, such as President Ahmed al-Sharaa. He added that “the Syrian Lawyers Syndicate serves as an advisory body for citizens who have a problem, whether with a lawyer, an officer, or any other person.”
Suleiman al-Qarfan, a member of the Central Council of the Syrian Lawyers Syndicate, told Enab Baladi that lawsuits have been filed by citizens, including lawyers, in their personal capacities against Hikmat al-Hijri, Nidal Maalouf, Wiam Wahhab, and Ghada al-Shaarani, on charges of incitement, collaboration with the enemy, and stoking sectarian tensions. He clarified that the Syndicate itself has not independently filed complaints against these individuals.
He added that it is not yet possible to state precisely which names the Public Prosecutor in Damascus has agreed to prosecute, especially since the procedures may still be at initial stages of investigation and evidence gathering.
Actual initiation of a case requires the Public Prosecutor’s approval, who may decide to close the file, open a formal investigation, or refer the case to the courts, depending on the nature of the available evidence for each person.
Legal opinion, political leadership holds the real power to prosecute
A source within the judiciary, who requested anonymity for administrative reasons, told Enab Baladi that even if a complaint is submitted by “any lawyer or citizen,” the decision to initiate a public criminal lawsuit against Hikmat al-Hijri will, in the end, remain a political rather than judicial decision.
He added that this practice is not set out in legal rules but is a de facto reality. If the Public Prosecutor in any court decides to prosecute a public figure like al-Hijri, the decision is political with a judicial cover and is not taken without the approval of the country’s political leadership.
Without such approval, no Public Prosecutor can, on their own, initiate a public criminal lawsuit against someone like al-Hijri, he said, stressing that in such cases the power to decide rests with Syria’s political leadership, should it wish to act, which means the authority to move the case lies with the political leadership, not the judicial apparatus.
Before the fall of the former Syrian regime, the authorities used judicial and administrative tools to confront dissenting voices by initiating public criminal lawsuits or relying on complaints filed by lawyers or citizens, measures frequently accused of being used to restrict freedom of expression or send political messages.
Al-Hijri at forefront as judiciary hears lawsuits over “undermining state security” charges Enab Baladi.
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