On 24 October 2004

The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) has participated as an observer in the trial of attorney-at-law Aktham Izzul Deen Nu’aisah held at the Supreme State Security Court in the Syrian Arab Republic on 24 October 2004. Attorney-at-Law Mustafa Yaghi attended the trial as a representative of the ACHRS. No other foreign observers attended and the representatives of the European Commission were not allowed to attend.
The trial session began at 10.30 hours. The defendant Nu’aisah, Defense Attorney Hasan, and the ACHRS representative were present. The demands of the public prosecution were read at the session. The defense commission did not appear in the trial and the representative of the public prosecution did not attend.
The two-page demands of the public prosecution were focused on confirming the charges leveled to the defendant Nu’aisah on the strength of his confessions and the facts and evidence held against him as contained in the bill of indictment of the public prosecution of the Supreme State Security Court. The public prosecution demanded the indictment of the defendant Aktham Nu’aisah on the crimes of which he was accused in the Bill of Indictment. It also demanded the dropping of the charge leveled against him that he belonged to an illegitimate society in violation of the provisions of Article 288 of the Penal Code, as it was included in the presidential amnesty issued on 15 July 2004.
The session was postponed until Sunday, 16 January 2005, to hear the statements of the defense attorneys.
It can be said that in the assessment of the ACHRS, the convening of the court in this fashion constituted a legal violation. It also constituted a violation of the rights of the defense attorneys, and consequently, it was null and void, because in such a case, no demands should be made or memos should be submitted as long as the court staff was not complete.
As for the demands of the Public Prosecution in the session to condemn the defendant on the strength of the charges leveled against him, the demands were in harmony with the Bill of Indictment, but some expressions, uttered by the defendant in the session held on 16 August 2004 when he replied to charges leveled against him, should be added.
It should be recalled that the ACHRS participated as an observer in the trial sessions of Aktham Nu’aisah held on 26 July 2004, 16 August 2004, and the last session held on 24 October 2004.