Dissident Syrian writer jailed for 3 years

DAMASCUS, May 13 (Reuters) A Syrian court sentenced prominent political writer Michel Kilo to three years in jail today on charges of ''weakening national feelings'' levelled after he criticised government policy toward Lebanon.

Witnesses said the same sentence was handed to Mahmoud Issa, a political activist who also signed last year's Damascus-Beirut Declaration criticising Syrian policy towards Lebanon.

Syria's Baathist government has grown more sensitive to any criticism of its Lebanon policy after it withdrew its troops from its smaller neighbour following the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri.

Syria-Lebanon ties plummeted after the assassination, which triggered protests in Lebanon and international pressure that forced Syrian forces to pull out of Lebanon after 29 years.

A UN investigation implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials. Syria denies involvement.

As Western pressure piled on Syria, authorities acted to stamp out dissent in a campaign human rights activists said was the most severe since President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his late father, Hafez al-Assad, in 2000.

Dissident Kamal Labwani was sentenced to 12 years in jail last week and human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni received a five-year jail term last month.

Syria has been under emergency law since the Baath Party took power in a coup in 1963 and banned political opposition.

Assad, who has been stressing the need to preserve national cohesion, was nominated unanimously on Friday by the Baathist dominated parliament for a second term.

The 41-year president was the only candidate accepted to run.

Parliament has set May 27 as the date for a referendum which dissidents have condemned as undemocratic.

Reuters DS GC1634