Syrian Court sentences 6 Syrians for fomenting separatism

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Syrian court has convicted six citizens for fomenting separatism and sentenced them to between two and 10 years in prison, a local human rights group said Monday. The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press that the State Security Court sentenced the six Syrians on Sunday. Hamid Suleiman Mohammad and Adnan Me'mesh, two Kurds from the northern city of Aleppo, were each initially sentenced to five years in jail, but the terms were increased to 10 years because of additional crimes, the rights group said, without providing details. Two other Kurds from Aleppo were sentenced Sunday to seven years in prison, the group said, adding that the four Kurds were also convicted of attacking security forces at a demonstration last year in Aleppo where they were arrested. The court sentenced Abdul-Razak Trabilsi and Hassan al-Jabiri to two years in prison and also convicted them of belonging to an extremist group. However, the two men were released Monday because their sentences had been backdated to the day they were arrested, the rights group said.