Adra Prison Explained

Prison Name:Adra Prison
Location:northeast outskirts of Damascus, Syria
Coordinates:33.5901°N 36.4405°W
Status:Operational
Capacity:2,500
Population:7,000
Populationdate:2014
Prisoners:Anwar al-Bunni, Bassel Khartabil, Mas'ud Hamid, Haitham al-Maleh

Adra Prison (Arabic: سجن عدرا) is a prison in Syria, on the northeast outskirts of Damascus.[1] [2] Political prisoners are held in the prison, along with a mixture of civil prisoners such as traffic offenders, murderers, and drug dealers. In 2014, the prison held more than 7,000 inmates, a dozen of them women, in space designed for 2,500.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] The Washington Post referred to the prison as "infamous".[8]

History

Ghassan Najjar, an engineer who was imprisoned in 1980, reportedly went on two hunger strikes, one to protest conditions in the prison. His fellow inmates said he was beaten so badly by prison guards trying to force him to eat that he suffered spinal injuries.[9]

Mas'ud Hamid, a Kurdish journalism student, was held in solitary confinement in the prison for one year from 2003 to 2004 before he was allowed monthly visits, and Human Rights Watch said that interrogators reportedly tortured him and beat him with a studded whip on the bottom of his feet.[10] His room was 2mx0.85mm (07feetx02.79feetm), largely filled by a toilet in it.[11]

In December 2004 Kurds in the prison conducted a hunger strike, which was allegedly halted by torture.[12]

In March 2011, 13 prisoners at the prison, including 80-year-old former judge Haitham al-Maleh and lawyer Anwar al-Bunni began a hunger strike to protest government oppression and the holding of political prisoners.[13]

On July 1, 2013, female detainees in the prison began hunger strike in response to negligence of their cases by the public prosecution of the Counterterrorism Court, and absence of approval of their respective trials.[14]

As of December 2014, the jail is well beyond its 2,500 person capacity at over 7,000 prisoners of all types of accused offenders, from murderers to traffic violators.

In August[15] and September 2015, Jaysh al-Islam shelled and stormed the prison, taking control of two buildings.[16] [17]

Former prisoners

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Syria: neither bread nor freedom . Alan George . 2003 . Zed Books . 9781842772133 . June 14, 2011.
  2. Web site: Little hope for press freedom on eve of President Assad's second seven-year term . https://archive.today/20120910063826/http://www.rsf.org/Little-hope-for-press-freedom-on.html . dead . September 10, 2012 . June 14, 2011 .
  3. Book: Throwing away the key: indefinite political detention in Syria . 1992 . Aziz Abu-Hamad, Andrew Whitley . Human Rights Watch . 9781564320872 . June 14, 2011.
  4. Web site: Syrian authorities interrogate 78-year-old dissident . Reuters . Khaled Yacoub Oweis . June 14, 2011.
  5. News: Syria authorities grill 78-year-old dissident . Kuwait Times . June 14, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120415002639/http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MjAyMjE1MjI2 . April 15, 2012 .
  6. News: Syria urged to transfer female prisoners . UPI.com . November 12, 2010 . June 14, 2011.
  7. News: Damascus' Adra prison massively overcrowded . Lebanon Daily Star . December 29, 2014 . May 6, 2015.
  8. News: Syria Frees 5 Political Activists . washingtonpost.com . January 19, 2006. Rhonda Roumani . June 14, 2011.
  9. Book: Human rights in Syria . 61 . Adra Prison. . Human Rights Watch . 1990 . James A. Paul. 9780929692692 . June 14, 2011.
  10. Book: Human Rights Watch False Freedom Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa. Human Rights Watch. 2005. June 14, 2011.
  11. Book: Far from justice: Syria's Supreme State Security Court . 2009 . Human Rights Watch . Human Rights Watch . 9781564324344 . June 14, 2011.
  12. Web site: The Syrian Kurds: A People Discovered. Robert Lowe. January 2006. June 14, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110929213212/http://edoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/HALCoRe_derivate_00002864/Syrian%20Kurds.pdf. 2011-09-29. dead.
  13. News: Evans . Dominic . 13 prisoners in hunger strike action . Scotsman . June 14, 2011.
  14. News: Hassoun . Joud . Hashem . Fouad . Female detainees begin hunger strike in Adra Prison . https://archive.today/20130705203729/http://syrianewsdesk.com/en/news/female-detainees-begin-hunger-strike-adra-prison . dead . July 5, 2013 . Syria Newsdesk . July 1, 2013 . July 5, 2013 .
  15. Web site: Insurgents shell main prison near Syrian capital, killing 10. 2015-08-23. The Daily Star.
  16. Web site: 11 dead in rebel shelling on Damascus: activists. The Daily Star. 2015-09-12. 2015-09-12. 2017-08-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20170812135756/http://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Middle-East/2015/Sep-12/314959-11-dead-in-rebel-shelling-on-damascus-activists.ashx. dead.
  17. Web site: Rebels storm Syria's largest prison near Damascus: monitor . 2015-09-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151005115628/https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/rebels-storm-syrias-largest-prison-near-damascus-monitor-125954952.html . 2015-10-05 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Adra Prison".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.