Damascus Authorities Continue Detaining Thousands of People in Hama, Adra and Harem Prisons

The administration of prisons of the Syrian government continues blackout regarding the situation of thousands of detainees who have been held in Hama, Adra and Harem prisons for nearly five months and 11 days ago without legal grounds or clear judicial process, despite the frequent appeals by their families to disclose the fate of their sons.

SOHR activists have monitored new developments regarding that cause, where local sources have told SOHR that the detainees in Harem include doctors and medical staffs who have not been investigated or referred to courts, although they have not faced any accusations of involving in crimes or violations against Syria.

According to SOHR sources, those doctors, medics and nurses had worked in hospitals and health centres during the rule of the former regime, and that they are now receiving inhumane treatment and struggling with disastrous situation in prisons.

The number of prisoners in Hama, Adra and Harem prisons approximates 10,000, where they were arrested during large-scale security campaigns which were launched on the 8^th, 9^th and 10^th of December 2024, following the fall of Al-Assad regime.

According to SOHR sources, Adra, Harem and Hama prisons also host former officers and soldiers who voluntarily handed themselves over without fighting following the fall of Al-Assad regime, civilians who were arrested during indiscriminate security and arrest campaigns and at military checkpoints, former fighters who fought ISIS and soldiers who were sent back from Iraq.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stresses that the ongoing detention of thousands of people under a situation lacks the minimum levels of legal and humanitarian standards is a blatant human rights violations and promotes the principle of sectarian and political-based arbitrary arrests.

SOHR also confirms that impact of not proceeding with investigations and fair trials would increase concerns and trigger public anger in Syria, especially with circulating reports about mistreat of detainees in those prisons.

We, at the Syrian Observatory, renew our demands to immediate release of all detainees acquitted of crimes and violations and call for starting immediate investigation under supervision by independent authorities to disclose the legal and humanitarian situation of the detainees and ensure holding accountable all official involved in violations in Syrian prisons.

SOHR also demands prioritise addressing the cause of detainees, which must not be delayed or neglected any more.