Mystery Surrounds Prison Riot Reports

Reports of renewed unrest at the Saidnaya military prison surfaced last month as the authorities continued investigating the cause of unrest there in July, according to a report on the London-based Levant News website.



The website published a December 18 statement from an organisation called Samir Kassir’s Eyes, which said, “Eyewitnesses confirmed a shooting and a fire at the Saidnaya prison on December 13. The military were seen deploying at the prison and reports said they were still there”.



Twenty-five prisoners died during the July riot at the jail, northeast of Damascus, where many political prisoners are held. The unrest began during a routine inspection at the prison. According to the London-based Syrian Committee for Human Rights, and also relatives of detainees, the trouble began when prison guards stamped on a Koran.



Human rights activists told the website that the authorities were continuing to prevent families from visiting prisoners who were still under investigation in connection with the earlier riot.