Assad Regime Executes 141 Detainees Infected With Pneumonic Plague
The Syrian Human Rights League said that according to identical testimonies of newly released detainees from the Intelligence Branch 215, Brigadier General Hasan Daboul, the head of the Branch, ordered to execute all detainees inside the eighth dormitory (housing141 detainees) in the Branch which holds more than eight thousand prisoners. The detainees inside the dormitory were reportedly infected with pneumonic plague, and their jailors ignored the recommendations of the medical committee that suggested treating the infected detainees and improving their detention conditions.
The League’s report pointed out that a mass execution against the sick detainees was carried out at two occasions. The first one was on September 8, 2014 when 117 detainees were executed, while the second one was two days later when 24 detainees were executed. The dead bodies were packed using plastic bags and buried in mass graves in the military area of Najha, an area which includes dozens of other mass graves where more liquidated detainees from the Military Intelligence prisons have been previously buried. Captain Ahmad Haidar, chief warrant officer Alaa al-Ali, chief warrant officer Basel al-Hasan, and warrant officer Khaldoun Jafar in addition to other regime troops from Branch 215 has supervised the executions and burials, according to the report.
The Syrian Human Rights League condemned the systematic criminal behaviour of the Assad regime that violates international conventions of human rights, and held the regime responsible for the safety of all detainees inside its prisons. It also considered those responsible for the horrific massacre of Branch 215 as criminals against humanity who must be tried by the International Courts.
The League urged the international community and international human rights organizations, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intervene urgently to save the lives of thousands of detainees who face the risk of death on a daily basis. Furthermore, it demanded the United Nations Security Council to refer the Syrian file to the International Criminal Court as soon as possible to stop the Assad regime from killing more of the Syrian people.
Syria Daily: Did Assad Regime Execute 141 Prisoners Who Had Pneumonic Plague? | EA WorldView
Assad Regime Executes 141 Detainees Infected With Pneumonic Plague | المكتب الإعلامي لقوى الثورة السورية
Branch 215 death chamber testimony
" When we got to Branch 215, they took me to the interrogator (short, dark skin, about 95 Kg, speaks the Damascene dialect). He asked me about my charges, but he didn't pay any attention to them. He asked one of the guards to take me. In our way, we passed through a big hole, and then we got down stairs. The moment they opened the door, I was surprised by the appearances of the detainees inside as they were waiting to go to bathroom, others were left in the corridor. They didn't look like human; they were walking skeletons. Ulcerations were all over their bodies. Those who were thrown on the floor were swimming in a pool of blood and pus that ooze out of their bodies due to the lack of sanitizers and hygienic conditions.
When they transferred me to another cell, I got more familiar with the place and the number of cells; the interesting thing about that huge jail, which contains about 1800 detainees, is the absence of security guards, except for a small office for some officer in the corner. All the tasks in the dormitories are assigned to the 'Shawishia' or hard-laborers (old detainees, who have been detained for more than a year) that were not only responsible for hygiene and food, but also for moving the dead bodies of tortured detainees
at the upper sixth floor.
One of the 'Shawishia' told me once that he was asked to bring a blanket and to go 'upstairs'. When he got there, he was surprised to find a detainee's body full of blood as he had been severely tortured and beaten with a hammer all over his body, especially on the head till he passed away.
I was transferred to Dormitory Khashab 1 (the wooden 1) which was headed by Abu Mahmoud AlAtrash. We were about 70 detainees in a (3.5*4 m) cell. The bad thing was that the 'Shawishia' have taken two thirds of the place. The rest of the place was for the new detainees who had to sleep in 'squatting' position. The 'Shawishia', however, can 'spread' their legs and sleep on their backs.
In this particular dormitory, I witnessed 7 death cases out of acute disease and high temperature. Most newly-arrested detainees were likely to have the 'detachment' (hallucination or detachment from surrounding, which was common in this branch) as they didn't tolerate the bad conditions of the branch. This 'detachment' symptom, usually, comes before the 'absolute' death as the detainee starts to lose his sense of the surrounding, then he loses his memory gradually. After that he starts to hallucinate which forecasts his death in the few coming hours.
In regard to the Sixth Floor or the interrogation room, the majority of the detainees revealed that they were exposed to brutal torture and beating, the worst of which was the 'Hanging' or hanging the detainee by his hands for several hours, in addition to electrifying, whipping and beating with truncheons all over the body.
Every day, we witnessed one or two death cases, most of them were among those who were brought from the detention centers in Homs, especially the Military Branch there.
Four days later, I was transferred to Dormitory 7; we were 70 detainees in a (4*4 m) cell. There I suffered a high temperature, my cellmates helped me reduce my body temperature by water and they took care of me. One of them was from Daraa; he had been detained for a year. He suffered severe chronic ulcerations too.
All the detainees in the dormitories (
1800 detainees) use six bathrooms only. In some cases, a detainee might have to wait two days in the 'queue' to get to use the bathroom. The average age of the detainees is 20 to 30 years. According to old detainees, the higher number of death cases was in Ramadan 2012; as forty six detainees passed away. Most of the detainees from Homs were university students.
In the evening of 3 Jun
2012, one of my city citizens died after one year of detention following many detainees from my city that were killed in this branch, one of them was a student in the Faculty of Dentistry; he was subjected to 9 interrogation sessions and died due to wounds and torture."
More witness testimonies @
Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria - A Report on Branch 215, Raid Brigade Military Intelligence Division - Damascus
