Member of the Syrian Coalition’s political committee Nagham Alghadiri called upon the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards hundreds of political detainees in Tartous Central Prison.
Alghadiri called for urgent action to ensure the safety of detainees in the facility as regime the forces have been trying to storm the prison since the early hours of Tuesday to end a mutiny inside the prison. Prison inmates staged a mutiny after their demands for fair re-trials have been repeatedly refused by the prison administration.
The mutiny began on October 28 to press regime authorities to fulfil the promises they made to the prison inmates who demanded an end to show trials in front of the so-called terror courts. Many inmates were referred to the terrorism court after they had made confessions under torture and duress.
Activists said that most of the detainees have been incarcerated in the facility for over five years after they were arrested by regime forces for participating in the demonstrations that swept across Syria in early 2011. Around 247 detainees, including 70 from the town of Banias, are held in the prison.
Alghadiri urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to pay the prison a visit to check the situation there and take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of all detainees. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)