Official prison documents from the former regime reveal the circumstances of the deaths of detainees in military detention centers, amid a complete lack of transparency regarding the true causes of death and the circumstances of their detention.
The documents obtained by Zaman al-Wasl are addressed to the Field Court and bear the signature of Major General Riyad Habib Abbas, Commander of the Military Police, which enhances their reliability and confirms that they were issued by senior security authorities as part of a series of reports documenting the conditions of detainees.
One of the documents addresses the death of Muhammad Nabil Samer al-Hamawi, born in Damascus in 1995, who died in Tishreen Military Hospital on August 24, 2021, immediately after being transferred from the First Military Prison (Saydnaya). Although al-Hamawi was transferred to the hospital the same day, the document did not specify the cause of death, nor did the authorities provide any additional details about his health condition or the circumstances surrounding his death, raising suspicions that he was subjected to torture or medical neglect.
The second document also reveals the death of detainee Sobhi Muhammad Akhtarini, born in Aleppo in 1992, who passed away in Tishreen Military Hospital on March 21, 2021.
The data indicates that Akhtarini was detained in the First Military Prison, pursuant to an arrest warrant issued on February 24, 2021.
The document stated the cause of death as "acute respiratory failure and metabolic syndrome," without mentioning any chronic illnesses or preexisting medical conditions.
The documents show that Akhtarini was detained on charges of "terrorist acts resulting in the death of a person," a common charge widely used to criminalize opponents of the former regime and civil society activists.
These documents once again shed light on the dark reality inside secret prisons, where thousands were held in inhumane conditions, and many were denied their right to healthcare and a fair trial.
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