Hama prison riot ends with Syrian gov’t concessions
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—A week long prisoner takeover of Hama Central Prison, north of Homs, Syria, has reportedly ended in a negotiated deal.
Hundreds of prisoners rioted and took at least seven guards hostage in protest of the planned transfer of five inmates to Sednaya Prison where it is believed they were going to face execution.
The five had been sentenced to death by field military courts in what prisoners claimed were secretive trials that did not meet fair trial standards.
“We began to protest because a military field court sentenced five detainees to death, but these courts do not have the right to issue sentences,” an inmate named Mohamed told Human Rights Watch.
Prisoners, who began their protest on May 1, also demanded fair and prompt hearings for those detained without trial, and release of those held without charge. The protest began in a wing housing those accused of terrorism or acts against the state, but quickly spread throughout the facility.
Syrian security forces cut off water and electricity to the prison. They also tried twice to retake the facility by force and failed on both occasions. They stormed the prison on Friday and Saturday using tear gas, and both rubber bullets and live ammunition.
Fifteen prisoners were shot and wounded, the BBC reported. Human Rights Watch said it had “major concerns about possible excessive use of force.”
During the attempted storming of the prison, inmates took seven police hostage. “The police are afraid to storm us again so we don’t capture more of them,” Mohamed told Human Rights Watch. “Police then used teargas and shot live rounds in the air, but that didn’t work to calm us down. So they sent in the head of the prison to negotiate with us.”
On Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, expressed alarm at the unfolding events at the prison. “Detainees took control of a section of the prison and are holding some guards hostage, and the authorities have cut off water and electricity supplies."
"Heavily armed security forces are surrounding the prison and we fear that a possibly lethal assault is imminent. Hundreds of lives are at stake, and I call on the authorities to resort to mediation, or other alternatives to force.”
The standoff reached a negotiated end according to Sheikh Nawwaf al-Melhem, a tribal leader and leader of the People’s Party, an opposition party. Melhem told the BBC that he had negotiated an agreement between Damascus and the prisoners.
Melhem travelled to Hama Prison on Saturday where he met with inmates and heard their demands, which he then took to Syrian government officials, Justice Minister Najm Hamad al-Ahmed and Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar, on Sunday.
A verbal deal was reached between the parties on Sunday. State media SANA reported that Ahmed and Shaar visited the prison and promised to meet the inmates’ needs and to ensure that no inmates were mistreated.
SANA also quoted a statement from the interior ministry saying that conditions in the prison were “normal” and condemning “lies and fabrications spread by malicious media outlets as part of their anti-Syria propaganda.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 26 prisoners are expected to be released shortly.
Also in the deal, electricity and water have been restored to the prison. Conditions inside the prison are reportedly terrible with food shortages and inmates needing medical care.
More than 117,000 people have been detained in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011. Hama Central Prison houses some 1600 detainees. Sednaya Prison, near Damascus, is notorious for its use of torture.
Hundreds of prisoners rioted and took at least seven guards hostage in protest of the planned transfer of five inmates to Sednaya Prison where it is believed they were going to face execution.
The five had been sentenced to death by field military courts in what prisoners claimed were secretive trials that did not meet fair trial standards.
“We began to protest because a military field court sentenced five detainees to death, but these courts do not have the right to issue sentences,” an inmate named Mohamed told Human Rights Watch.
Prisoners, who began their protest on May 1, also demanded fair and prompt hearings for those detained without trial, and release of those held without charge. The protest began in a wing housing those accused of terrorism or acts against the state, but quickly spread throughout the facility.
Syrian security forces cut off water and electricity to the prison. They also tried twice to retake the facility by force and failed on both occasions. They stormed the prison on Friday and Saturday using tear gas, and both rubber bullets and live ammunition.
Fifteen prisoners were shot and wounded, the BBC reported. Human Rights Watch said it had “major concerns about possible excessive use of force.”
During the attempted storming of the prison, inmates took seven police hostage. “The police are afraid to storm us again so we don’t capture more of them,” Mohamed told Human Rights Watch. “Police then used teargas and shot live rounds in the air, but that didn’t work to calm us down. So they sent in the head of the prison to negotiate with us.”
On Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, expressed alarm at the unfolding events at the prison. “Detainees took control of a section of the prison and are holding some guards hostage, and the authorities have cut off water and electricity supplies."
"Heavily armed security forces are surrounding the prison and we fear that a possibly lethal assault is imminent. Hundreds of lives are at stake, and I call on the authorities to resort to mediation, or other alternatives to force.”
The standoff reached a negotiated end according to Sheikh Nawwaf al-Melhem, a tribal leader and leader of the People’s Party, an opposition party. Melhem told the BBC that he had negotiated an agreement between Damascus and the prisoners.
Melhem travelled to Hama Prison on Saturday where he met with inmates and heard their demands, which he then took to Syrian government officials, Justice Minister Najm Hamad al-Ahmed and Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar, on Sunday.
A verbal deal was reached between the parties on Sunday. State media SANA reported that Ahmed and Shaar visited the prison and promised to meet the inmates’ needs and to ensure that no inmates were mistreated.
SANA also quoted a statement from the interior ministry saying that conditions in the prison were “normal” and condemning “lies and fabrications spread by malicious media outlets as part of their anti-Syria propaganda.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 26 prisoners are expected to be released shortly.
Also in the deal, electricity and water have been restored to the prison. Conditions inside the prison are reportedly terrible with food shortages and inmates needing medical care.
More than 117,000 people have been detained in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011. Hama Central Prison houses some 1600 detainees. Sednaya Prison, near Damascus, is notorious for its use of torture.