Syria (Maybe) Kills Prisoners of All Stripes
Syria, that beacon of transparency, is denying that a riot in a Syrian jail may have cost the lives of dozens of prisoners. Human rights groups in Damascus are claiming bloodshed. The authorities said they squelched an uprising at Sidnaya prison but did not mention any casualties, according to the Financial Times.
Whether or not dozens were killed, prisoners fear a bloody assault by Syrian troops will led to a massacre.
Supposedly, the rioters took hundreds of guards hostage, and negotiated their release in exchange for not being tortured or killed. Good luck with that.
As one of the country’s largest prisons, it is used to hold political detainees, of all political stripes.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency said it held “prisoners sentenced for crimes of terrorism and extremism caused trouble.”
A human rights groups said it held, leftists, Palestinians, Islamist militants and detained Syrian soldiers — basically anyone who crossed the regime either in action or belief. The legal basis continues to be the Baath-imposed Emergency laws, put in place since 1963, which makes Syria the police state it is.
