Secretary-General of the Syrian Coalition Mohammed Yahya Maktabi calls on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards the Syrian detainees incarcerated in inhumane conditions in Assad’s prisons. “We call for providing full protection for detainees and for putting all kinds of pressure on the Assad regime to release them.”
Hundreds of Syrian inmates at Hama Central Prison rioted on Friday in a protest against jail conditions, harsh sentences, and widespread torture. Gunshots were heard outside the prison after security forces arrived to quell the riot believed to be the worst bout of unrest since simmering tensions inside the prison this year.
“The Assad regime has a long history of dishonesty and deception, so no confidence can be put in any promises it makes to the prison inmates.” Maktabi calls on the UN Security Council to put pressure on the Assad regime to implement the UN resolution 2139 urging the release of all detainees in Syria. He also calls on as the International Red Cross’s mission to organize visits to detention centers to check on the safety of detainees and report on their status.
“The Assad regime has detained over 200,000 Syrian citizens, including women, children and elderly, most of them languishing in overcrowded detention centers for more than four years and in intolerable conditions.”
The Syrian Coalition has previously sent many calls to the international community and human rights organizations to act towards the detainees issue. However, these have not yet provided any solutions or even to help the most vulnerable people to the violence of the Assad regime. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
