London and Ottawa — Syria's best-known human-rights activist has agreed to represent Canadian Maher Arar when he comes to trial before a Syrian state security court, but so far he hasn't even been able to meet his new client.
Mr. Arar's wife, Monia Mazigh, asked Haitham al-Maleh to represent her husband at his trial, which is expected to start within a week or two. Mr. Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, was arrested one year ago in New York as he was travelling home to Ottawa.
U.S. authorities shipped him off to Syria despite his Canadian citizenship, sparking an angry reaction from Ottawa.
Mr. Arar has never been formally charged, although the Syrians say he is being held as a terrorist suspect, allegations his wife denies.
Mr. al-Maleh, a 72-year-old lawyer, has been fighting for decades against the Baath Party regime of the late Hafez Assad and his son Bashar, who took over the presidency three years ago. Mr. al-Maleh said in an interview from his home in Damascus that he will do his best to represent Mr. Arar, but was not particularly optimistic about the prospects of his client being freed from prison soon.
Mr. al-Maleh noted that the Syrian authorities have rounded up 2,000 to 3,000 suspects since Sept. 11, including citizens of Italy, Bulgaria and other countries, who like Mr. Arar were born in Syria and are still considered Syrian citizens.
Mr. al-Maleh has so far not been allowed to visit Mr. Arar, who is being held at Sednayeh prison in Damascus. "There's no chance to see him at this time. I have to wait."
Asked whether he expects the human-rights situation to improve in Syria with the appointment last week of a new reformist prime minister, Mr. al-Maleh said that nothing will change as long as the government retains the state of emergency, which has been in effect for 40 years and suspends basic human rights.
In Ottawa, Mr. Arar's wife urged Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to personally intervene with Syrian leaders to obtain her husband's release. Canada should suspend programs promoting trade and investment with Syria until his release, she said.
Amnesty International said it has grave doubts that Mr. Arar can get a fair trial before this particular Syrian security court.
There are no known cases of anyone being acquitted by the court and there is no indication that the proceedings will be open to Canadian diplomats or independent observers, Alex Neve, secretary-general of the Canadian chapter of Amnesty, told a news conference.
"This is a highly politicized tribunal that has nothing but contempt for international standards for a fair trial," Mr. Neve said.
In addition to Mr. Arar, two other Syrian-Canadians, Abdullah Almalki and Arwad Al-Bouchi, are being held in Syrian jails in similar circumstances.
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