A Syrian court has sentenced a human rights lawyer to five years in prison for criticising government policy towards Lebanon.
Anwar al-Bunni was among a group of Syrian activists and intellectuals arrested a year ago after signing a document known as the Damascus-Beirut Declaration that called for a review of relations between the two countries.
Anwar al-Bunni, human rights activist
"I didn't commit any crime. This sentence is to shut me up and to stop the effort to expose human rights violations in Syria ," Bunni said after the sentence was pronounced.
Syria has been under emergency law since 1963 when the Baath Party took power in a coup.
The government began a campaign to stamp out dissent last year that human rights groups described as the most severe since President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his late father, Hafez al-Assad, seven years ago.
Bunni, who comes from a family of political activists, was accused of "weakening national morale". His two brothers have already spent between them 30 years in jail.
Bunni (48) has argued that Syria 's interest is better served by an unequivocal recognition of the sovereignty of Lebanon and dialogue with the Beirut government.
Relations between Syria and Lebanon plummeted after the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri in February 2005. That killing triggered protests in Lebanon and international pressure that forced Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon after a 29-year presence.