Sweida detainees begin hunger strike in Adra Prison

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a number of detainees from Sweida province at Adra Central Prison began an open-ended hunger strike this morning, protesting the continuation of their arbitrary detention and demanding their immediate release and the guarantee of their basic rights.

According to information from the Syrian Observatory, these detainees were arrested during the incursion by the transitional government’s forces into Sweida in mid-July, without clear charges being brought against them. They are suffering from deteriorating humanitarian and health conditions inside the prison, amid a severe shortage of medical care and food, posing a direct threat to their lives.

The detainees, including minors, pointed to two main demands: first, their release due to the lack of evidence linking them to any criminal acts; and second, allowing representatives of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the prison and provide medical care to detainees whose health has deteriorated.

Sources from the Syrian Observatory said that the prison administration has refused to respond to this request for about two weeks.

The Syrian Observatory added that the detainees had previously carried out a similar hunger strike several months ago after receiving promises of release, but those promises were not fulfilled. This prompted them to resume the hunger strike and escalate their protest actions, amid serious fears of further deterioration in their health conditions, especially given the presence of medical cases requiring urgent transfer to hospitals.

ANHA