I'm joined now by the Ambassador in London, His Excellency Hatem Seif El Nasr.
"I know that you hope that Seif will be a good solution, " he writes.
Mr Seif and the 11 others were later sentenced to another two-and-a-half years in prison.
Fortunately for Seif, his main rivals have been busy counting themselves out of the running.
Born in 1946 in Damascus, Mr Seif was a prominent industrialist before he decided to enter politics.
Mr Seif's political career began in 1994 when he won a seat in the People's Assembly, Syria's parliament.
Mr Seif is still holding seminars in his home, but attendance has dropped.
"A campaign was started against metal music and we were labelled as Satanists and evil, " says Wyvern drummer Seif El-Din Moussa.
This support enhanced Col Ojukwu's popularity in East Africa and the conflict captivated the region, says BBC Swahili Service analyst Idd Seif.
Mr Karume got 53% against 46% for CUF (Civic United Front) candidate Seif Sharif Hamad, said Zanzibar Electoral Commission chairman Masauni Yussuf Massauni.
The new body had been proposed by Mr Seif with the backing of the US, which had signalled its frustration with the SNC.
Mr Qaddafi's second-eldest son, Seif-ul-Islam, provides a further impetus for change.
Mr Mekdad was accompanied by the Arab League's Assistant Secretary General, Samir Seif al-Yazal, who said the nine-strong advance team of monitors would not be deterred.
Mr Seif's latest initiative is a proposal to set up a new leadership body to unite the various opposition factions in Syria as well as abroad.
At the same time, Mr Mahfouz struck up a close working friendship with Salah Abu Seif, who was to be one of Egypt's most prolific film directors.
Seif al-Hourani, an activist from a rebel group which reportedly helped the man and his family out of the country, told AP news agency via Skype that the escape had been planned for months.
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