Human Rights Lawyer Facing Military Court

Jailed lawyer and activist Anwar al-Bunni has been sent before a military court for a document in which he described the Syrian legal system as “unjust”, according to Aafaq, a Washington-based site promoting reform in the Arab world.



Aafaq also published a draft law authored by Bunni that would see the introduction of a new legal system and a law on political parties. The bill said, "The legal system governing Syria is an unjust system that discriminates among social categories and gives privileges to a certain category. Oversight and accountability are lacking, as is a role for the citizen in terms of participation and having an influence. And the role of the judiciary is reduced to nothing."



Bunni, one of Syria’s leading human rights advocates, is already serving a five-year sentence for the offence of “spreading false or exaggerated news that weaken the spirit of the nation”. Until now he has been held at the Arda prison near Damascus.