DAMASCUS, Syria, March 6 (UPI) -- Two Syrian activists have been referred for trial in a military court for signing a document advocating a healthy Syrian-Lebanese relationship.
Ammar Qarbi of the National Human Rights Organization in Syria said the authorities Tuesday transferred the case of prominent writer and columnist Michel Kilo and activist Mahmoud Issa to a martial court in Damascus.
He said they were questioned and charged with Article 150 of the Military Penal Code that allows "temporary detention exceeding no more than five years to all those who publish political articles or speeches aimed at promoting a party, institution or banned organization."
Kilo and Issa were arrested about a year ago after signing the Damascus-Beirut Declaration that called for relations between the two countries based on mutual respect after Lebanese and international pressure forced a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in April 2005. They were among a larger group of Lebanese and Syrians who signed the petition.
Transferring their trial to a military court came after a criminal court in Damascus charged Kilo and Issa with "spreading false news and inciting sectarian jingoism."
