DAMASCUS // During a routine session of the Syrian parliament recently, something unexpected happened - a member proposed that harsh emergency laws be reviewed.
Abdul Karim al Sayed, an independent MP from Aleppo, said the state of emergency imposed in Syria should be evaluated by a committee of MPs, which would then recommend changes.
Emergency laws give the authorities sweeping powers to arrest anyone suspected of "endangering public security" or of "disturbing public confidence". Under these laws, countless human rights activists and opposition figures have been imprisoned over the years.
The issue was not scheduled for discussion, and it came as a surprise at the February 23 parliament sitting, according to officials and other MPs. A pro-government official at the session recalled it with anger, saying it was "neither the time, nor the place" to raise the subject.
The proposal was rapidly quashed. Those present say Syria's justice minister defended emergency laws as essential given the state of war with Israel and, when the speaker put the proposed review to a vote in the chamber, none of the other 249 MPs supported it.
"Having an MP ask about the emergency law is a surprise, all the others keeping their mouths shut is expected," said a Syrian civil rights campaigner. Parliament is not known as a hotbed of opposition. Elected every four years, it has no real decision-making powers and its members must acknowledge the exclusive right of the Baath Party to rule.
Although the attempt to usher in reform of the emergency laws failed, and received no coverage in domestic media, it comes at a critical time.
This week, Syria marked the 48th anniversary of the Baath Party's rise to power and almost five decades under the emergency laws. It was the Revolutionary Command Council's second communique, issued on March 8, 1963, after the Baathist coup, which imposed the de facto martial rule that continues to this day.
Crucially, the stillborn attempt at reform comes with the Middle East convulsed by uprisings against entrenched regimes, ruling under similarly fashioned legislation. Egypt, Tunisia and Libya have seen revolutions aiming to sweep away laws giving the security apparatus unlimited powers, and restricting the civil rights of ordinary people.
The Syrian authorities insist they do not face that kind of popular discontent, defending their record of gradual economic modernisation and political stability. However, some officials have acknowledged that change must now be accelerated, and the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, has spoken of wanting to push through municipal elections and other legislative reforms.
But it remains unclear if the state of emergency is being reconsidered as part of any reform agenda.
Since the February 23 parliamentary session, Mr al Sayed, a former member of the Syrian Democratic Party, one of the country's weak political opposition groups, has been reluctant to discuss the matter further. He did, however, confirm he had asked for the legal review.
An independent MP, Mohammad Habash, who was not present in the session, said he "hopes and expects" that the state of emergency would be lifted this year, as part of "a formula that guarantees national security, and at the same time lets people feel relaxed and satisfied".
"During the 10th Baath Party congress in June 2005, one recommendation was to reduce the instances in which the emergency law was applied," he said. "Now we think it is a suitable time to ask what has happened to that recommendation."
Umran Zaubie, a lawyer and Baath party member, confirmed the congress would be held this year and would discuss "all issues".
"In 2005, the emergency law was not on the schedule for discussion, but it still came up," he said. "Everyone has the right to talk about this issue. It's healthy to examine these things."
Mr Zaubie said that freedoms were "squeezed" in all countries during times of war but insisted the emergency law had not been widely used in Syria for more than a decade.
"It's important to distinguish between the letter of the law and the reality of how that is implemented," he said. "According to the law, the minister of interior has a free hand, in reality that is not applied."
On Tuesday, 12 Syrian human rights groups called for the state of emergency to be lifted and political prisoners freed, saying public freedoms were "subject to continuous violations".
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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FIGHT CARD
Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
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Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Packages which the US Secret Service said contained possible explosive devices were sent to:
- Former first lady Hillary Clinton
- Former US president Barack Obama
- Philanthropist and businessman George Soros
- Former CIA director John Brennan at CNN's New York bureau
- Former Attorney General Eric Holder (delivered to former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz)
- California Congresswoman Maxine Waters (two devices)
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
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