Renewed Unrest in Hama Prison as Assad Regime Reneges on May 9th Agreement

Press Release Original in arabic

Syrian Coalition

May 29, 2016

The refusal of the Assad regime to implement the agreement reached with detainees at Hama Central Prison earlier in May has sparked renewed unrest in the prison. Detainees caused unrest as a last resort to demand the implementation of the agreement and the reclamation of their rights.

The Syrian Coalition reaffirms support for the detainees’ demands for the full implementation of the terms of the agreement.

The Syrian Coalition calls on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards the situation in Hama Central Prison by taking immediate and concrete action in order to ensure the implementation of the deal reached between the Assad regime and the detainees. It urges the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Hama Central Prison to assess the situation there and to take urgent action in order to ensure the safety of all detainees in the prison.

The Syrian Coalition also emphasizes the need to fully implement the set of recommendations put forward on January 27, 2016 (updated on February 3, 2016) by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate all human rights violations in Syria.

The Syrian Coalition reiterates that the file of detainees in Assad’s prisons will always remain a top priority and that the Coalition will not accept using this file as a bargaining chip under any circumstance or within any political approach.

May our wounded recover, our detainees be free, and our fallen heroes rest in peace.

Long live Syria and its people, free and with honor.