Syria: State security court stresses its authority in al-Turk's case
Syria, Politics, 5/28/2002

In its third trial session, events of trying the secretary general of the Syrian Communist Party- the political bureau -- Riad al-Turk were limited to a legal controversy concerning the authority of the court and the extent of its constitutionality.

Meantime judge Fayez al-Nouri did not agree to the conditions to have an open trial that al-Turk asked for together with the defendant commission. The trial session was postponed until tomorrow ( Wednesday).

Syrian official sides persistently described the trial session as "open" because an editor for SANA was attending the trial despite the fact that SANA had reported no news on the events of the trial.

However, sides close to the Syrian attorney said that what happened in the court can be stated as follows in the "third 'open trial': The defendant for the accused submitted a memorandum on the constitutionality of the trial. And the court's commission answered the memorandum according to the content of article 153 of the permanent constitution for 1973 which states that all legislation and laws issued before this constitution and was not referred to in the new constitution -- to be valid until it is amended or canceled. Then the chairman of the court asked the accused ( al-Turk) to answer the accusation decision which was stated by the chairman of the attorney (prosecution); and al-Turk for the beginning refused to talks. A matter which provoked the chairman of the attorney to consider his silence concerning the accusation read to him as an approval for this decision. Then many of the defendant lawyers asked to meet separately with the accused to convince him to talk and they asked for one hour time to talk with the accused and their request was granted." Then "the session was reopened and the defendant lawyers and the accused Riad al-Turk asked the court commission to postpone the session. And it was postponed until Wednesday, May 29 of the current month, May."

The court then read its decision as follows: "all what have been stated concerning 'openness' (i.e. having an open court) is guaranteed by the presence of the family and relatives of the accused and the lawyers. The law permits the court to hold the trial in secret and the court is careful to implement the law. As in regard to the public opinion, SANA's correspondent ( the representative of the national press) is (present) and he reports what is taking place and that the court is national and not international. The trial session is not extraordinary, it is ordinary."

Previous Stories:
  Public trial for al-Turk is still under dispute   (5/20/2002)
  The first trial session of Dalila, Saleh trial   (5/10/2002)
  Al-Turk's trial postponed   (4/29/2002)

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