 | |
| Location | northeast outskirts ofDamascus,Syria |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°35′24″N36°26′26″E / 33.5901037°N 36.4404945°E /33.5901037; 36.4404945 |
| Status | defunct |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| Population | 7,000 (as of 2014) |
| Closed | 2024 |
| Notable prisoners | |
| Anwar al-Bunni,Bassel Khartabil,Mas'ud Hamid,Haitham al-Maleh | |
Adra Prison (Arabic:سجن عدرا) was a prison inSyria, on the northeast outskirts ofDamascus.[1][2]Political prisoners are held in the prison, along with a mixture of civil prisoners such as traffic offenders, murderers, and drug dealers. In 2014, the prison held more than 7,000 inmates, a dozen of them women, in space designed for 2,500.[3][4][5][6][7]The Washington Post referred to the prison as "infamous".[8]
Ghassan Najjar, an engineer who was imprisoned in 1980, reportedly went on twohunger strikes, one to protest conditions in the prison. His fellow inmates said he was beaten so badly by prison guards trying to force him to eat that he suffered spinal injuries.[9]
Mas'ud Hamid, aKurdish journalism student, was held insolitary confinement in the prison for one year from 2003 to 2004 before he was allowed monthly visits, andHuman Rights Watch said that interrogators reportedly tortured him and beat him with a studded whip on the bottom of his feet.[10] His room was 2 by 0.85 metres (6 ft 7 in × 2 ft 9 in), largely filled by a toilet in it.[11]
In December 2004 Kurds in the prison conducted a hunger strike, which was allegedly halted by torture.[12]
In March 2011, 13 prisoners at the prison, including 80-year-old former judgeHaitham al-Maleh and lawyerAnwar al-Bunni began a hunger strike to protest government oppression and the holding of political prisoners.[13]
On July 1, 2013, female detainees in the prison began hunger strike in response to negligence of their cases by the public prosecution of the Counterterrorism Court, and absence of approval of their respective trials.[14]
As of December 2014, the jail was well beyond its 2,500 person capacity at over 7,000 prisoners of all types of accused offenders, from murderers to traffic violators.[7]
In August[15] and September 2015,Jaysh al-Islam shelled and stormed the prison, taking control of two buildings.[16][17]
On December 7, 2024, the prison was liberated by theSouthern Operations Room during theFall of Damascus.[18]
On December 13, 2024, the United States charged Samir Ousman Alsheikh with human rights abuses during the time that he ran the prison from 2005 to 2008.[19]
Adra Prison.
