Reports | 25 05 2020
Clashes took place between the "law and order" forces and "national defense" affiliated with the regime, on Wednesday, after an attempt by "national defense" to break into Hama prison in order to "kill prisoners", This was hours after the release of detainees by the regime, in implementation of the demands of the protesters prisoners inside the prison.
Sources inside the prison told ROZANA that "large numbers of National Defense and the members of the areal-security intelligence tried to break into the central prison in Hama threatening to kill the prisoners in retaliation for the bombing by the opposition factions on the villages of the coast (villages loyal to the regime).
Added that: "the security forces prevented the entry of the national defense members, and clashes took place between the two parties in the vicinity of the prison."
This comes just hours after releasing 30 political detainees from the prison in Hama, in implementation of the agreement between the prison administration and prisoners who went on a lockout inside the prison since last Monday.
The prisoners were released are: "Gadi Alwan- Mohamed Khair Sheikh- Hussein Badi- Ghassan Alsoatri- Ahmed brbo- Tariq Beayon- Mohammed Hamdan Hawan- Mohammed Ali Abu Shama- Mohammed al-Masri- Mohammed Hussein Arja- Zaki Zaitoun - Hassan Hussaini."
And "Bassam Abbas- Ayman Sheikh Khalid- Abdul Salam Akra- Hassan al-Masri, Khaled Aldabag, Mohammed Msalkhi- Raes Alidalbi- Muhannad Ftyma, Omar al-Masri- Emad Mcilani- Bassam Tarchi- Ayman al-Homsi- Firas Boshi- Maher Huwaydi- Omar Al-Mohammad."
The lawyer “Musa Alheis” said that "there are fears of braking into the prison by the National Defense and the security members, and repeating the scenario of Sednaya prison (Military Prison) in 2008, where a number of the detainees were killed at that time."
The sources from inside the prison said that the regime brought the detainees’ relatives to the prison to put pressure on the detainees in order to stop the strike, but the prisoners insisted on continuing until implementing their demands."
The main reason for the strike was that the Syrian regime determined to move four detainees to the military prison “Sednaya”, and they are:
Khaled Mchaymech, Abdul Latif Habbo, Mahmoud Alwan, Anwar Farzat.
where it was believed that the reason of transferring them to the military prison is to carry out the death sentence against them, because they are being arrested for the benefit of well-known “Military Court” that most legal provisions are life imprisonment or the death penalty, and what happened then is that the prisoners detained a number of police officers who came to the prison for taking the four detainees to Sednaya prison.
According to sources inside the prison, on Thursday, that "the detainees insist on the supervision of the International Red Cross to carry out any deal with the regime in resolving the issue” pointing out that "the detainees refuse to exclude any prisoners from any agreement."
A detainees’ committee was formed in order to be responsible for the negotiation process with officials at the Ministry of Interior and the prison administration, at a time when the regime reinforced its troops in the area around the prison, with the continued disconnect of the power and water supply in the prison.
The sources pointed out that "the prison administration and officials in the Interior Ministry and the government promised to release 500 detainees from the prison with the exception of 100 detainees are arrested in favor of the Military Court in Sednaya."
Also the sources revealed to ROZANA, that "the UN envoy to Syria, Stefan de Mistura, called for the intervention of the Red Cross to oversee the negotiations in Hama prison, but the Syrian regime refused to do so."
The sources added, "de Mistura continues his efforts to submit Hama Prison file to international parties concerned about the issue in order to reach a settlement in the prison."
In Hama there are 800 detainees imprisoned in favor of “Terrorism Court” and “Military Court”.
And it is noteworthy that the prison witnessed last year protests by prisoners, most of them political prisoners who were opponents of the regime, to demand better living conditions and speed up the trials, the regime responded at that time by changing the prison director.