Lawyers protest detention of 12 Syrians dissidents

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Syrian rights group says the defense lawyers for 12 jailed Syrian dissidents have claimed in court that their clients' detention is illegal. The development came during Wednesday's court hearing. The defendants are members of a coalition of pro-democracy groups known as the "Damascus Declaration." They were arrested in the months following a coalition meeting last December. Their trial started in July. Mohannad al-Hussni of the Syrian Organization for Human Rights says the lawyers submitted a document to the judge stipulating that the defendants committed "nothing illegal" and that their detention is "legally unjustified." The hearings were then adjourned until October 29.