The risk of mass infection in Syria's detention facilities is alarming, and it was extremely high even before the spread of COVID-19, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a press release on Friday, urging Damascus to announce amnesty like in other countries
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd April, 2020) The risk of mass infection in Syria's detention facilities is alarming, and it was extremely high even before the spread of COVID-19, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a press release on Friday, urging Damascus to announce amnesty like in other countries.
"One of the countries where the risk of mass infections in prisons is extremely high and which has yet to take any such action is Syria, where the situation in all official prisons and makeshift detention facilities is alarming ... Even before the onset of COVID-19, we have received a significant number of reports of deaths in the facilities run by the four security branches and in Sednaya [military prison], including as a result of torture and denial of medical care," the office said in a press release.
According to the OHCHR, there are vulnerable groups of citizens in prisons, including elderly people, women and children, and those with underlying health conditions. The organization also pointed to the the Syrian government's recent decree, which grants amnesty for some criminals and military deserters
"We urge the Syrian Government and the armed groups to take urgent action -- following the example of other countries -- to release sufficient numbers of [detainees] to prevent COVID-19 leading to yet more loss of life and misery after nine years of unrelenting death, destruction of the health system and displacement. We also call on all parties to allow humanitarian actors and medical teams unhindered access to prisons and other places of detention to check the conditions under which the detainees live and asses their needs," the press release added.
So far, Syria has confirmed 16 cases of the disease and two deaths on its soil.
