the authorities of the damascus central prison in adra 19-3

8/9/2019 The Authorities of the Damascus Central Prison in Adra 19-3

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Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, LebanonTel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: [email protected]

Beirut, 19 March 2010

Press release

The authorities of the Damascus Central prison in Adra:

Further harassment against political prisoners, amid silence from the

international community

A number of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in the Damascus CentralPrison in Adra confirmed that the prison authorities have stepped up pressures and

harassments against them, as part of new measures that these authorities have added to

the long list of abuses against the detainees, in stark violation of international norms andconventions.

SKeyess Correspondent in Damascus, who was able to contact a number of detainees

currently being held in the Adra prison, said that the problem began when a number ofpolitical prisoners refused visits to protest the conditions of detention, and the punitive

and discriminatory approach used by the prison authorities against them.To protest against the prison wardens decision obligating the prisoners to wear the

uniforms allocated to criminal prisoners, the lawyer Muhannad al-Hassani, the head ofthe Syrian Organization for Human Rights (SAWASIA), in addition to Riad Seif and

Jaber al-Shufi, members of the Secretariat of the Damascus Declaration, refused to go

down to the visits hall.A Syrian lawyer who preferred to remain anonymous said: the political prisoners asked

to wear civilian clothes when their relatives would visit, as they are prisoners of

conscience. However, their request was denied by the prison warden who said that theyare criminal prisoners, and they must hence wear the prison uniform. The detaineesresponded: since we are criminal prisoners, why do you deny us many of the rights

enjoyed by other criminal prisoners?

The lawyer also said that the restriction reached the extent of prohibiting a large numberof political prisoners from attending the mosque inside the prison, because it is a perfect

place for assembly and gatherings, and even non-Muslim detainees began to go to the

mosque to meet prisoners from the other wings of the prison.

Meanwhile, a Kurdish prisoner in the Adra prison said that he always meets his family

with the presence of an officer who writes down every single word we utter. He alsosaid that he and his family were forced to speak in Arabic, which is difficult for many

families, especially those who are not proficient in Arabic.The Kurdish prisoner added: I was threatened of being denied visitation rights, should Icontinue speaking in Kurdish, and despite the fact that my wife does not speak Arabic at

all. Tears have thusbecome the only language we can both speak.

A current political detainee said that he is constantly subjected to harassment bycriminal prisoners sent by the prison administration to spy on him inside the prison and

during the recreation period. He added: I and many other prisoners were denied

access to the prison library. Also, the books and newspapers we had were confiscated


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after many sudden inspection raids made by the prison guards against us, while the

windows that were open between the prison wings were closed and communication with

other prisoners was restricted to a minimum. The detainee also said: we fear that the

harassments might continue, and to take other forms, as has been the case with somecolleagues. They were tried against the backdrop of information given by criminal

prisoners, and some were given additional sentences added to their original ones.

A lawyer and human rights activist who preferred to remain anonymous said: there areno legal provisions in force that obligate prisoners to wear the same uniform as criminal

prisoners. According to Article 46 of the Syrian Penal Code, those convicted may be

employed in the works organized by the prison administration, according to their choiceat the start of their sentences. The prisoners cannot be employed outside of the prison

except with their consent, and cannot be forced to wear the prisoners uniform.It should be mentioned here that the lawyer Muhannad al-Hassani had informed SKeyess

correspondent in Damascus of his present situation and said: I am under constant

observation inside the prison, and suffer from frequent harassment by the criminalprisoners. They also seized the Al-Arabi famous Kuwaiti magazine from me two days

ago, and I am still being denied access to the prison library. Al-Hassani also confirmed

to SKeyess correspondent that the conditions of all political prisoners are similar interms of the harassment and persecution by the prison police against them, and by the

criminal prisoners.According to sources in the Syrian human rights community, the Adra central prison

administration has been enacting a series of punitive measures and systematic

harassments against the prisoners, such as prohibiting them from being alone with their

defence lawyers, which is a right guaranteed by the Syrian laws and the constitution, andalso denying them access to the library and preventing them from reading and applying to

the baccalaureate exams, and even from sleeping on beds. In addition, the prisoners havebeen placed under close surveillance inside the prison by other prisoners, were preventedfrom communicating with one another, were subjected to provocative inspection raids

inside their cells, and saw their relatives being prevented from bringing them even

foodstuff. Also, the prison administration disallows participation in language courses and

other activities by the prisoners.On March 11, 2010, the Human Rights Watch organization called on the EU High

Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton to raise the

issue of human rights with the Syrian officials, during her visit to Damascus that she

made in mid-March, and called on her to obtain pledges from Syria to improve its humanrights record.

The organization said that the United States and the European Union failed to achieveany gains in the field of human rights in Syria, despite the U.S and Europeanrapprochement with the latter.

Shortly before Ashtons visit, the director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and

North Africa division Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement that the past few months

have demonstrated [that] talking to Syria without putting its rights record on the tableemboldens the government to believe that it can do whatever it wants to its people,


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without consequence. She also added: A message to Syria that says We only careabout your external affairs is a green light for repression.

The statement also said: While Syrian officials are chatting up Western diplomats in

their gilded front parlours, theyre jailing anyone who dares to utter a critical word intheir basement prison cells.

It should be mentioned that Syria had requested that the signature of the partnershipagreement with the European Union be postponed, because of its objection the content of

a political declaration to be annexed to the partnership document, and which calls for

wider margins of freedoms, democracy and pluralism, and for domestic partnership,

political reforms, partisan pluralism, freedom of the press and for larger transparencywith respect to human rights.

Syria objects to this political declaration, and to the fact that this addendum is not present

in similar partnership agreements signed between the EU and other countries such as

Tunisia and Jordan.

On the other hand, the President of the International Association of Lawyers Corrado deMartini sent a letter addressed to the Syrian President Bashar Assad, in which he

expressed the associations deep concern regarding the conditions of the lawyers Haithamal-Maleh and Muhannad al-Hassani, who are being detained in Syria against the

backdrop of their activism in the field of human rights.

The letter said: The international association condemns the conditions surrounding theprosecution and arrest of the above mentioned lawyers, and views their arrest to have

taken place in an arbitrary manner, against the background of their legal and human

rights activism. Therefore, the association, in view of the above, believes that the lawyers

must be released immediately without conditions. The international association alsodeplores the manner in which al-Hassani was treated by the Syrian Bar Association, and

also deplores the disciplinary trial and proceedings against him. It has also come to theattention of the members of the International Association of Lawyers that the trial of Mr.Al-Maleh has started before the military court in Damascus.

The letter added: We are aware that al-Maleh suffers from chronic diseases that require

medications in a continuous and regular manner. Unfortunately, it turned out that he is

being deprived of his medicines and that he has not received any medical care sinceFebruary 18, 2010.

The President of the International Association of Lawyers also said that these conditions

that the detainees are experiencing violate the provisions of international conventions in

this regard, and which prohibit all forms of inhumane treatment in similar situations.Another Syrian lawyer and human rights activist who declined to be named said that at a

time when the lawyer Muhannad al-Hassani is nominated for an international award inthe field of the defence of human rights, the Syrian authorities continue to detain him atthe Adra prison, while his trial is taking place on charges of undermining the statesstanding, weakening the national morale and conveying false news that could debilitate

the morale of the nationthis is a shameful matter.It is worth mentioning here that the International Secretariat of the Martin Ennals Award

for Human Rights Defenders, which is based in Geneva, announced the names of the


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nominees for the award. They are: Mr. Wan Yanhai (China), Ms Aida Quilcu

(Colombia), Mr. Daniel Bekele (Ethiopia) and Mr. Muhannad Al Hassani (Syria)

The committees decision mentioned that These persons have shown exceptional

courage in their struggle for the respect of human rights in their country and continue totake risks in view of their work.

The Martin Ennals Award is the result of the collaboration of several international humanrights NGOs, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International

Federation of Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture, Front Line,

International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights First, and the International Service

for Human Rights. The awards laureate will be announced on May 7 during a pressconference, and the award will be presented on October 15, during the annual ceremony

held by the Martin Ennals Foundation in Geneva.

The SKeyes Centre for Media and Cultural Freedom would like to draw the attention of

international organizations, particularly those involved in human rights issues, to the

ongoing practices carried out by the prison authorities of the Adra Central Prison and allSyrian prisons that detain political prisoners, writers and journalists. SKeyes call upon

these organizations to take immediate action and put pressure on Syria to end the seriesof arrests, abuses and harassment in their various forms against these prisoners. SKeyes

also reiterates its call on the Syrian authorities to release all prisoners of conscience in

Syria, and end its arbitrary arrests against writers, journalists, activists and politicians.

the authorities of the damascus central prison in adra 19-3

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