Female detainees alone abandoned in Adra Prison, no visit, no trial

By Balqis Abu Rached; Translation by Yusra Ahmed

(Zaman Al Wasl-EQTSAD)- No visits for Dozens of “female” prisoners in Adra prison, Damascus Central Prison, where no service available for free, even the medical care, as a result of dangerous route to prison. That new situation encouraged prisoners to follow a simple way of social cooperation.

Samar, a former political prisoner confirms that no one visits dozens of women for months, especially those came from uprising cities. “Hardly anyone can bear the prison’s food, we used to rely on food delivery, however the prison’s administration prevented us many time from that to pressure us and sell the food as many fold as expensive, therefore we applied the social cooperation where one’s money is for all, to help who did not have source of support”

Samar confirms that her weekly spending exceeded Sp.5000, as nothing available even water, and she had to tip many workers in prison for buying anything and let it in.

No official or accurate number available for female prisoners in Adra prison, usually they are denied access to fair trial, and their fate is left for exchange deals with some opposition battalions, as most of them demand freeing women and children.

Women in prison do not have any medical care and many of them suffer of severe diseases, even getting medicine from outside the prison, would cost fold its price, Samar said.

Samar mentioned that a ten-day old infant died because she did not have the antibiotic and medication she needed.

Samar adds that when visits stop for all prisoners because of bad security situation outside, situation becomes unbearable and felt like slow dying.

Samar appeals for human right and other organizations to try to have a closer insight at the female prisoners’ conditions and to pressure the regime to improve services in such a civil prison, moreover, most of them transferred to Adra after long suffer in security detention centres.

On 1st July 2013, female political prisoners in Adra started hunger strikes to protest their treatment in the Damascus Central Prison. The detainees demanded a right to a fair trial, proper medical care and contact with family members. Some prisoners were pregnant, elderly or sick and were denied proper treatment.

A campaign was soon launched in solidarity with them to raise international awareness about the conditions of the Adra prison. It aimed to show international human rights organizations how those women were treated in prison.

Last year a Syrian human rights organisation released a statement saying that approximately 300 female prisoners in Adra were living in inhumane conditions, failing to meet the basic United Nations' international human rights standards for treatment of prisoners.

Syrian Association for Human Rights said it had received information that the women, held in the political branch of the Damascus prison, are suffering inhumane treatment, in extreme conditions that lacked even the basic international human rights standards for the treatment of prisoners, as stipulated by the United Nations.

In a statement, based on testimonies from Syrian female activists, Syrian Association for Human Rights said there are now "200 “female” prisoners held in the political department of Damascus central prison (Adra), controlled by political security and supervised by security forces who are operating outside the prison’s command.”

The statement said most of the women suffered from skin and respiratory illnesses due to the lack of basic medical care and negligence, and that some of the women needed medical treatment for complications as a result of torture during the interrogation stage of their incarceration.

The statement also said that cells used for detention lack the minimum standards for hygiene and cleanliness, leading to the spread of epidemics. Prison supervisors, it added, do not allow any medication to enter the prison. It also said malnutrition was prevalent as only one meal was delivered to the prisoners daily, and that in most cases, the meal was small and contaminated.