Published : 04-05-2022
Four Palestinian refugees were freed from Syria’s state-run prisons over recent days following an Amnesty by president Bashar Al-Assad.
Three of the newly-released Palestinians are residents of Khan Eshieh Camp. They are: Mohamed Rashdan, Yousef Nahar, and Ashraf Mahmoud. They were arrested over the past four years. Mazen AlSukari, a resident of Arabein, was arrested in 2012.
Over recent days, prisoners families, including Palestinian refugees, assembled in the "President's Bridge" area, awaiting the arrival of buses carrying people who have been held for years in Syria’s infamous prisons, many for participating in the 2011 protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
Other families gathered since Monday in Sednaya, north of Damascus, which is home to Sednaya, Syria's largest and most notorious military prison.
Palestinian refugee families expressed fear that their relatives would not be included in the amnesty, saying they have suspicions as to how sincere the Syrian regime could be.
On Saturday, Assad issued a decree giving a general amnesty to people convicted on terrorism charges before 30 April 2022. The amnesty excludes acts that have led to killings or kidnappings, and those against whom there are civil personal claims.
Thousands of Palestinians and Syrians have been jailed on terror charges for peaceful opposition to Assad’s government since the 2011 Arab Spring protests and subsequent war.
The Prisoners’ Council said the regime claimed 2,500 people would be included in the amnesty. However, no more than 40 people have been released so far.
Nizar Sedkni, deputy justice minister, said the amnesty included those convicted of various crimes, including being involved in or financing a “terror group”, a term often used for opposition groups.
Justice Minister Ahmed el-Sayed described the amnesty as a comprehensive national reconciliation, telling the state-operated al-Watan newspaper that it was contributing to the return of thousands of refugees.
The releases come after the Guardian revealed last week that in 2013 military security agents executed about 42 people by pushing them into a hole, shooting them and then burning them.
Thousands of Syrians were discovered killed under torture when a defector leaked nearly 50,000 photographs in 2014, showing the bodies of some 7,000 detainees mutilated by torture.
Over 1,700 Palestinian refugees are believed to be languishing in Syria’s prisons, many of them have spent nearly a decade in prison while scores of others died under torture behind prison bars.
Four Palestinian refugees were freed from Syria’s state-run prisons over recent days following an Amnesty by president Bashar Al-Assad.
Three of the newly-released Palestinians are residents of Khan Eshieh Camp. They are: Mohamed Rashdan, Yousef Nahar, and Ashraf Mahmoud. They were arrested over the past four years. Mazen AlSukari, a resident of Arabein, was arrested in 2012.
Over recent days, prisoners families, including Palestinian refugees, assembled in the "President's Bridge" area, awaiting the arrival of buses carrying people who have been held for years in Syria’s infamous prisons, many for participating in the 2011 protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
Other families gathered since Monday in Sednaya, north of Damascus, which is home to Sednaya, Syria's largest and most notorious military prison.
Palestinian refugee families expressed fear that their relatives would not be included in the amnesty, saying they have suspicions as to how sincere the Syrian regime could be.
On Saturday, Assad issued a decree giving a general amnesty to people convicted on terrorism charges before 30 April 2022. The amnesty excludes acts that have led to killings or kidnappings, and those against whom there are civil personal claims.
Thousands of Palestinians and Syrians have been jailed on terror charges for peaceful opposition to Assad’s government since the 2011 Arab Spring protests and subsequent war.
The Prisoners’ Council said the regime claimed 2,500 people would be included in the amnesty. However, no more than 40 people have been released so far.
Nizar Sedkni, deputy justice minister, said the amnesty included those convicted of various crimes, including being involved in or financing a “terror group”, a term often used for opposition groups.
Justice Minister Ahmed el-Sayed described the amnesty as a comprehensive national reconciliation, telling the state-operated al-Watan newspaper that it was contributing to the return of thousands of refugees.
The releases come after the Guardian revealed last week that in 2013 military security agents executed about 42 people by pushing them into a hole, shooting them and then burning them.
Thousands of Syrians were discovered killed under torture when a defector leaked nearly 50,000 photographs in 2014, showing the bodies of some 7,000 detainees mutilated by torture.
Over 1,700 Palestinian refugees are believed to be languishing in Syria’s prisons, many of them have spent nearly a decade in prison while scores of others died under torture behind prison bars.
