#Syria Female prisoners in ‘Adra Prison are on their 5th day of hunger striking to protest their indefinite detainment with no charges. Adra prison has been home, sadly, to many political prisoners over the years. It is one of the most infamous Syrian regime prisons, originally built to hold 2,000 inmates it now holds over 9,000. It is located north-east of Douma, in the Damascus Surburbs. A predominantly male prison, there are at most a couple of hundred female prisoners amongst thousands of male prisoners. Human rights groups have been calling on the regime since the late 90s to move the female prisoners, due to stories of repeated harassment. ‘Adra has seen many strikes within its walls, most recently: In 2006, jailed civil society activists who had taken part in the “Damascus Declaration" began a hunger strike to protest their unfair detainment. In 2009, a group of Kurdish political prisoners started a hunger strike to protest prison conditions (which are abysmal — 80 people in a cell meant told 20), unfair trial practices, and racial discrimination. In 2010, Kamal Labawani and a group of Arab political prisoners started a strike to protest unfair treatment and practices towards the prisoners. In early 2011, before the uprising, Haithem al-Maleh and other notable political prisoners underwent a hunger strike to protest unfair trial practices. In July 2011, a few months after the uprising, hundreds of prisoners started a hunger strike demanding their freedom. Blogger and poet Tal al-Mallohi, arrested in late 2009 on charges of ‘weakening national security’ (she had written poems for Palestine, on her blog) is reportedly held at ‘Adra.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 20:22:02 +0000
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