Syrian crackdown on critics reported

BEIRUT — Syrian authorities have arrested a leading opposition figure, hours after putting 10 other critics of the ruling Baath Party on trial, according to international human rights groups.

Riad Seif, a former member of parliament, was taken into custody Monday evening and brought before a judge Tuesday, the activist group Movement for Justice and Development said on its website.

Seif and at least some of the defendants in the other case were present last month at a high-profile political meeting held at his residence in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

The 11 dissidents could face years-long jail sentences for charges such as “weakening the national spirit and awakening racism and sectarianism,” “spreading false information” and “involvement in a secret organization.”

Seif dismissed the charges in court, according to the Syrian activist group’s website, forsyria.org.

“We are not a secret society,” he reportedly told the court. “All of our actions are public and we want to see democratic change in Syria in a calm and safe way.”

In a telephone interview, Ausama Monajed, a London-based Syrian dissident, described the charges as “outrageously unfounded, tailor-made accusations.”

Seif has already served five years in prison for his political activities. With other dissidents, he recently formed an umbrella opposition group called the National Council of the Damascus Declaration to advocate greater democracy in Syria. The group includes leftists, liberals, conservatives, Kurds and moderate Islamists.

The Movement for Justice and Development, which has representatives in Syria and Britain, said that the move was widely seen as “an attempt by the Syrian regime to forestall the development of a strong pro-democracy movement in the country.”