Detainees in Syrian Prisons: Death Penalty or Death under torture
Since the beginning of June 2015, up to the moment of preparing this report, the so-called “Anti-terrorism Court” issued verdicts against 56 detainees held at Hama Central Prison. The verdicts are detailed as follows:
I: 12 detainees were sentenced to death. The verdicts were issued after a pardon given by the Syrian authorities in 2014, which included reducing death penalties to life imprisonments. In addition, convictees were asked to pay a fine of 40 million Syrian Liras (almost 135,000 USD) each.
II: 8 detainees were not included the presidential pardon, and therefore were sentenced to death.
III: 25 detainees were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
IV: 11 detainees were sentenced to periods of imprisonments ranged between 12 and 15 years.
V: 7 detainees were sentenced to death on 21st of June, 2015 by the Anti-terrorism Court in Damascus after participating in strike in Hama Prison.
Most of the prisoners in Hama Central Prison are from Hama and Raqqa districts.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights was able to contact a number of prisoners inside the prison: For example, prisoner (D.S), was arrested by the Air Force Security branch in Hama on 4th of November 2012, said that his verdict was issued by the Anti-Terrorism Court in Damascus 15th of June 2015; he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The sentence was based on a security report which included confessions obtained under sever torture; there was no evidence to support his charge of “forming a terrorist group”.
