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Hunger strike amongst Kurdish political
prisoners in Syria
8.11.2009
By Khalaf Dahowd
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November 8, 2009
(ekurd.net), Khalaf Dahowd, — Kurdish political
prisoners in Adra Prison and Sednaya Military
Prison, Damascus, Syria are suffering degrading
conditions similar to those that were suffered by
prisoners in the Middle Ages. Dozens of young Kurds
lie behind high walls and inside dark corridors,
hidden in isolation from the outside world, with
minimum medical services. These are political
prisoners, supporters of the Democratic Union Party,
the PKK and PYD, and Sittar – a women’s
organization. They stay in individual cells deprived
of contact with each other and with their families,
subjected to various types of psychological and
physical torture.
Syrian Human Rights Committee – MAD, has received
information that some of these prisoners started an
open-ended hunger strike on 30 October 2009 against
the harsh conditions and unfair judgments of the
Supreme State Security Court.
They intend to continue the hunger strike until:
• they receive a fair trial
• their isolation ends
• they are allowed to leave the prison yard
• they are granted visits from parents, and
relatives
• and they have access to the media, including radio
and television bulletins to give them the same
conditions as are available to criminal prisoners.
The Syrian Government uses the State of Emergency
that has been in place since 1963 to imprison anyone
accused of involvement with a Kurdish Political
Party, and these arrests are designed to intimidate
those who want to work to bring about
self-determination for the Kurdish community. The
current system is not improving – in fact in Syria
the oppression of Kurds is noticeably increasing.
We ask the international community to pay attention
to the conditions for Kurdish political prisoners in
these prisons in Syria, to investigate the reports
of torture and ill-treatment, and to require in
their dealings with the Syrian authorities that
international standards for the treatment of
prisoners are respected. We ask for the release of
all political prisoners in Syria.
International Support Kurds in Syria Association –
SKS
6 November 2009
Web: www.supportkurds.org
Email: info@supportkurds.org
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