Op-Ed Urges Action on Israel Negotiator Trial

In an opinion piece published on the pro-government website All4Syria on December 13, Osama al-Jamal criticised the delay in prosecuting Ibrahim Suleiman, a Syrian-American businessman said to have been involved in unofficial peace talks between Syria and Israel.



Prosecutors in Tartus filed a case against Suleiman after he appeared before the Israeli Knesset to discuss negotiations and the prospects for a peace deal. The Syrian government publicly rejected his comments.



Al-Jamal noted that more than a year had passed since prosecutors filed charges that Suleiman had contacted a hostile country during a time of war, distributed false information and weakened national sentiment.



Since Suleiman had no known residence in Syria, the prosecutor argued that the case should be moved from Tartus to Damascus. An investigative judge ruled that he was not equipped to hear the case and transferred it to a military court, and that was the last that had been heard about the affair, al-Jamal complained.