Yesterday, the defense body of Syrian MP Riad Seif reiterated its request to summon Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam as a witness before the Second Criminal Court in Damascus. The purpose of this testimony is to shed light on the meeting between Vice President Khaddam and MP Seif. During the meeting, MP Seif and his three witnesses claim that they discussed the matter of national dialogue and the formation of a new political party in Syria, following the anticipated enactment of a new party law to regulate political activities in the country.
In yesterday’s hearing, the court heard the testimony of the third witness, Dr. Yousef Salman, a member of the National Dialogue Forum. Dr. Salman’s testimony corroborated the accounts of the two previous witnesses, Nazir Jazmati and Dr. Radwan Ziadeh. According to Dr. Salman, MP Seif did not make any references to forcibly changing the Syrian Constitution or inciting sectarian conflict within the country.
Regarding the proposed amendments to certain articles of the Constitution, Dr. Salman explained that they pertained to the socialist choice and the leadership of the Arab Baath Socialist Party in the state and society. He emphasized that all the discussions focused on presenting peaceful viewpoints that were completely unrelated to the idea of altering the constitution through force. The issue of peaceful, progressive, and democratic action was the sole concern, completely devoid of any inclination towards violence. MP Seif considered his initiative as a tribute to President Bashar Al-Assad and his positive approaches, which he believed should be supported. He expressed his endorsement of the reform, modernization, and development efforts aimed at establishing a society based on freedom, democracy, justice, and equality.
Dr. Salman clarified that MP Seif did not address the formation of a political party in any of the activities organized by his forum. In this regard, MP Seif informed forum members that he had met with Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam. During the meeting, Vice President Khaddam assured MP Seif that a new party law would be enacted in Syria, allowing for the submission of proposals regarding national dialogue and subsequently permitting the formation of a political party once the law was in place.
