Riad Seif (Arabic: رياض سيف‎; born 25 November 1946^[1]) is Syrian political dissident, formerly a member of the Parliament of Syria and prominent businessman, who founded and lead the Forum for National Dialogue.^[2] Seif was elected to parliament in 1994 as an independent and again in 1998. For many years held the Adidas franchise in Damascus.^[3]

Overview[link]

According to Seif, his career in industry started with "a workshop for manufacturing shirts in 1963." In 1993, he began "building the New Adidas Company in 1993 ... the first of its kind in Syria", after acquiring a franchise for Syria from the Adidas Corporation.^[4]

Following the death of Syrian leader Hafez al Assad in June 2000, Seif assembled "leading [Syrian] intellectuals and independent voices" to discuss "how to open up Syria's ... political system." The group - which met on Wednesdays evenings, in Seif's living room and was later dubbed the Forum for National Dialogue - "debated human rights, pluralism, press and academic freedoms, and how to build a civil society," and was the first of several forums that "marked the onset" of the Damascus Spring.^[5] In January 2001, Seif announced his intention to create a new political party to compete with the ruling Ba'th Party. Around this time he also questioned the monopoly on the new cellular telephone system granted to the family of Hafez al Assad's wife Anissa Makhlouf. Calling the deal `a big scandal that would cost Syria, an underdeveloped country, millions and millions of dollars`, Seif `spoke against it loudly in parliament and forced them to investigate it.`^[6] After a major meeting of the Forum for National Dialogue on 5 September 2001 which several hundred people attended, Seif was arrested.^[7] Charged with "defying the state and trying to change the constitution by illegal means," he was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and released in January 2006.^[8] Since then Seif has told journalists that he and his family have been threatened by Syrian Mukhabarat demanding that he not talk to diplomats or any other foreigners, and that his businesses have been forced into bankruptcy. `It started when they cut off supplies for my factories.`

Amnesty International reports that since his release from prison he "has been subjected to various forms of harassment and ill-treatment," including the refusal to allow him to leave the country in late August 2007 for treatment of his prostate cancer, "which has advanced to a stage where it is liable to start spreading to other parts of his body without specialist treatment, which is only available outside Syria."^[9]

He was again arrested in early 2008 and imprisoned for trying to "overthrow the government", in reference to his work as a leader in the Damascus Declaration. He was then incarcerated in Adra Prison together with other leaders of the Damascus Declarations.

He was arrested on 6 May 2011 in Damascus.^[10]

Awards[link]

• "Menschenrechtspreis der Stadt Weimar" (Translation: "Human Rights Award of the City of Weimar"), Germany 2003^[1]

See also[link]

• Damascus Spring

References[link]

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Rami Makhlouf (Arabic: رامي مخلوف‎, born 10 July 1969) is a wealthy Syrian businessman and the maternal cousin of President Bashar Assad.^[1][2] He is the main owner of Syriatel and according to the Financial Times he is thought to control as much as 60% of the Syrian economy through his web of business interests that include telecommunications, oil and gas, construction, banking, airlines and retail.^[3] He is considered one of the most powerful men in Syria and according to Syrian analysts no foreign company can do business in Syria without his consent and partnership.^[4][5] He is a part of Bashar Assad's inner circle.^[6]

Background[link]

Rami Makhlouf is one of the wealthiest individuals in Syria and the cousin of Bashar Assad. He is related to the Assad family through his aunt Anisa Makhlouf who is the wife of former Syrian President Hafez Assad. His personal wealth was estimated in 2008 to be about $6 billion dollars.^[7] He is the main owner of Syriatel which is one of the two licensed mobile phone company's in Syria. Besides owning Syriatel, he is involved in real estate, banking, free trade zones along the border with Lebanon, duty-free shops, and luxury department stores.^[8] According to the Financial Times, he is thought to control as much as 60% of the Syrian economy through his web of business interests, ^[3]

Rami Makhlouf was among a diverse group of connected insiders who monopolized the small, but growing, Syrian private sector in the 1990s. As President Hafez Assad prepared for his son's succession, the distribution of assets from privatization began to shift clearly in favor of the Makhloufs. Assad believed the Makhlouf family could be relied upon to support Bashar without reserve in the uncertain political environment that would follow upon his death. This was in contrast to other insiders who had close financial ties to billionaire Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, such as former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam. Rami and his brother Ihab therefore enjoyed easy access to opportunities such as an exclusive license to operate a network of duty-free retail shops where a significant portion of goods were redistributed inside the country. By the time Bashar assumed power in 2000, Rami Makhlouf was well established.^[9]

Business Activities[link]

Rami Makhlouf is thought to have attempted in 2004 to take over the Mercedes concession in Syria by ensuring a law was passed denying Mercedes the right to import parts unless Makhlouf was made the exclusive agent for Mercedes in Syria. Mercedes wanted to keep the Sanqar family who had the concession since the 1960s.^[10] Mercedes stopped all activity in Syria until the dispute was resolved, the Mercedes concession is now once again controlled by the Sanqar family.^[11]

Makhlouf's current business interests are extensive. He is the majority owner of Cham Holding which has investments in luxury tourism, restaurants, and real estate through Bena Properties. Cham Holding also controls Syrian Pearl Airlines, the first private airline to be allowed in the country. He is also invested in several private banks established in Syria, such as the International Islamic Bank of Syria, Byblos Bank, Al Baraka Bank, International Bank of Qatar, Cham Bank, Bank of Jordan in Syria; in insurance companies; and in financial services companies, such as Cham Capital. Like his father, Mohammed Makhlouf, he is active in the oil sector, via the British oil company Gulfsands Petroleum. He is also invested in real estate companies such as Sourouh, Fajr, Al Batra, and Al Hada'iq; in tourism companies such as Al Mada'in; in media companies such as daily Al Watan, radio/television station Ninar and satellite station Dunya TV; in advertising companies such as Promedia; in education companies such as the Chouwayfat schools; in industry through the Eltel Middle East company; and in Public Work's companies such as Ramak TP.^[7][12] Rami Makhlouf has extensive land holdings in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were the subject of court litigation. As a result of this litigation Rami's U.S. holdings were transferred to his brother Ihab. The Makhloufs also have a monopoly on the import of tobacco into Syria.^[13]

Makhlouf maintains a close relationship with Bushra al-Assad, Bashar's older sister, and her husband Assef Shawkat. He also operates a number of different business projects in Lebanon with Maher al-Assad, Bashar's younger brother. There are reports of tensions between the two, which is considered why parts of the Makhlouf business were shifted in 2005 to Dubai. Some observers believe the transfers were made because the Makhloufs were worried that they were going to be made the scapegoats of an anti-corruption propaganda campaign.^[13]

Accusations of Corruption[link]

In February 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury designated Makhlouf as a beneficiary and facilitator of public corruption in Syria. His influence and connections within the regime have allowed him to control the issuance of certain types of profitable commodities contracts.^[1] According to the Treasury Department, “Makhlouf has manipulated the Syrian judicial system and used Syrian intelligence officials to intimidate his business rivals. He employed these techniques when trying to acquire exclusive licenses to represent foreign companies in Syria and to obtain contract awards.”^[14] On May 10, 2011 the European Union placed sanctions on him for bankrolling the regime and allowing violence against demonstrators.^[2][15]

Rami Makhlouf is viewed by the Syrian opposition as a symbol of corruption in Syria. In Daraa during the 2011 Syrian uprising, demonstrators accused him of being a "thief".^[16] Among political observers it is generally accepted that Makhlouf's great wealth is a result of his close family ties to the Syrian regime. It is reported that Bashar al-Assad before he became president would during official meetings try to make business contacts for Rami.^[13] In US diplomatic cables leaked by Wikileaks, Rami Makhlouf is described as a powerful regime financer.^[17] Makhlouf has further been accused of illegally diverting Lebanese telephone calls through Syria with the help of businessman Pierre Fattouch for the benefit of Syriatel.^[13]

The arrest and imprisonment for several years of the Syrian dissident Riad Seif is related to his criticism of Rami Makhlouf. Seif, a member of parliament and one of the most ardent critics of the Syrian government, became known outside of Syria because of his government criticism during the Damascus Spring of 2001. Despite several warnings by the Syrian regime not to interfere, Riad began in September 2001 an anticorruption campaign against the way the two GSM mobile phone licenses were awarded, one of which had been awarded to Maklouf's Syriatel. Shortly thereafter Seif lost his parliamentary immunity and was arrested and imprisoned for five years.^[18]

2011 Syrian uprising[link]

Opposition activists during the 2011 Syrian uprising accused Mr Makhlouf of financing pro-government demonstrations both across Syria and abroad, by providing flags, meals and money for those participating. The tycoon insists his businesses are legitimate and provide professional employment for thousands of Syrians.^[6]

On June 16, 2011 tycoon Rami Makhlouf, who says he is quitting the Syrian business scene, owes his fortune and his role as a hate figure for protesters to his cousin President Bashar al-Assad.^[19]

See also[link]

• Assad family

References[link]

http://www.arabbusiness-news.info

External links[link]

• Dossier: Rami Makhlouf, Mideast Monitor, January–March 2008
• Who's who in Syria's leadership, BBC News, 3 March 2005
• Rami Makhlouf collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Rami Makhlouf
• Uprising exposes Syria’s economic weaknesses, Financial Times, 26 April 2011
• Syrian Businessman Becomes Magnet for Anger and Dissent, Anthony Shadid, The New York Times, 30 April 2011
• رامي مخلوف