Translation by Yusra Ahmed
(Zaman Al Wasl)- A former nurse in Damascus Central Prison, also know as Adra, has revealed to Zaman al Wasl new details about the lieutenant pilot Ragheed al-Tutari, who is behind bars since 34 years ago.
The nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had met with al-Tutari in 2011 in Adra prison when he transferred with 300 fellow inmates from Sednaya prison after major disobedience.
"The appearance of detainees brought to Adra prison was miserable as some of them were limping and many used walking sticks or fully paralyzed, and some of them were accused of bombing American Embassy and Dawriyat branch” , the nurse detailed.
The speaker mentioned that soldiers and nurses were not allowed to communicate with prisoners, but he managed to do that because of his job, he got to know later that the new prisoners were brought from Sednaya and Tadmur prisons after insurgencies to control the prisoners accused of initiating the acts.
The orderly described the situation in the prison as it was full of surveillance cameras, and the hall where al-Tutari was put had nothing more that walls and some blanket and mattresses, but it was considered luxurious compared to Sednaya prison.
Nurse Ibrahim Murad spoke about his first meeting with al-Tutari: “I was trying to communicate with old prisoners to find out information about my relatives who were lost in eighties' events last century, therefore I was advised to communicate with “Abu Khalid”, nickname of al-Tutari, as they were not allowed to tell their names, then I approached him excusing with taking his blood pressure reading, he was not comfortable for me because of the military uniform, and when I told him that I was from Idlib and looking for relatives, he told me that the only people stayed alive since then were only himself and another person but I forgot his name”.
According to the nurse, al-Tutari suffered of hypertension and diabetes and was treated with insulin, he used to move a little, and very religiously intellectual, and was considered encyclopedia for prisoners who consulted him in their matters, because he was their wise old man.
Al-Tutari had problem in his sight and became unable to read the Holy Quran well therefore, detainees pressurised the director of the prison to provide an Mb3 devices to enable him to listen to the Quran.
In regard to the insurgency in Adra prison in 2011 which was done as a protest against invading Jobar city in Damascus, the nurse said that al-Tutari was behind it and he was requested to convince prisoners to stop it, but he refused.
Al-Tutari was born in Damascus in 1955 and was arrested 34 years ago for because he had applied for asylum in the United Nations headquarters in Cairo during his visit in 1981 and after dismissing him from his job as an officer in the Army and military pilot, therefore he had no resource for living and was forced to apply for asylum.
Many suggested that reason behind dismissing him was a revenge for his rejection to bomb people in Hama's brutal crackdown in the early eighties last century when he was a lieutenant pilot.
Al-Tutari was called many times for investigation in Adra prison in 2014 because he inquiring about prisoners who disappeared in regime’s prison. He was banned from visits and medical care, and all the rights of prisoners, and in 2015 he was isolated in a singular cell for 15 days and changed his wing to humiliate him
(Zaman Al Wasl)- A former nurse in Damascus Central Prison, also know as Adra, has revealed to Zaman al Wasl new details about the lieutenant pilot Ragheed al-Tutari, who is behind bars since 34 years ago.
The nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had met with al-Tutari in 2011 in Adra prison when he transferred with 300 fellow inmates from Sednaya prison after major disobedience.
"The appearance of detainees brought to Adra prison was miserable as some of them were limping and many used walking sticks or fully paralyzed, and some of them were accused of bombing American Embassy and Dawriyat branch” , the nurse detailed.
The speaker mentioned that soldiers and nurses were not allowed to communicate with prisoners, but he managed to do that because of his job, he got to know later that the new prisoners were brought from Sednaya and Tadmur prisons after insurgencies to control the prisoners accused of initiating the acts.
The orderly described the situation in the prison as it was full of surveillance cameras, and the hall where al-Tutari was put had nothing more that walls and some blanket and mattresses, but it was considered luxurious compared to Sednaya prison.
Nurse Ibrahim Murad spoke about his first meeting with al-Tutari: “I was trying to communicate with old prisoners to find out information about my relatives who were lost in eighties' events last century, therefore I was advised to communicate with “Abu Khalid”, nickname of al-Tutari, as they were not allowed to tell their names, then I approached him excusing with taking his blood pressure reading, he was not comfortable for me because of the military uniform, and when I told him that I was from Idlib and looking for relatives, he told me that the only people stayed alive since then were only himself and another person but I forgot his name”.
According to the nurse, al-Tutari suffered of hypertension and diabetes and was treated with insulin, he used to move a little, and very religiously intellectual, and was considered encyclopedia for prisoners who consulted him in their matters, because he was their wise old man.
Al-Tutari had problem in his sight and became unable to read the Holy Quran well therefore, detainees pressurised the director of the prison to provide an Mb3 devices to enable him to listen to the Quran.
In regard to the insurgency in Adra prison in 2011 which was done as a protest against invading Jobar city in Damascus, the nurse said that al-Tutari was behind it and he was requested to convince prisoners to stop it, but he refused.
Al-Tutari was born in Damascus in 1955 and was arrested 34 years ago for because he had applied for asylum in the United Nations headquarters in Cairo during his visit in 1981 and after dismissing him from his job as an officer in the Army and military pilot, therefore he had no resource for living and was forced to apply for asylum.
Many suggested that reason behind dismissing him was a revenge for his rejection to bomb people in Hama's brutal crackdown in the early eighties last century when he was a lieutenant pilot.
Al-Tutari was called many times for investigation in Adra prison in 2014 because he inquiring about prisoners who disappeared in regime’s prison. He was banned from visits and medical care, and all the rights of prisoners, and in 2015 he was isolated in a singular cell for 15 days and changed his wing to humiliate him
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