Syria: Security Forces Storming Prison

(New York, May 6, 2016) – Security forces are attempting to storming Hama Central Prison, trying to end a prison protest that began on May 1, 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The action raises major concerns about possible excessive use of force.
Inmates rioted in parts of the prison, in the town of Hama north of Homs, after prison authorities attempted to transfer five inmates reportedly sentenced to death by Syria’s field military courts, inmates told Human Rights Watch via Whatsapp messaging from inside the prison. The prisoners took at least seven prison guards as hostages. At about 6:30 p.m. on May 6, an inmate sent voice messages and video to Human Rights Watch indicating that the security forces were attempting to storm their prison bloc, using teargas and rubber bullets. One video showed men coughing and fainting as a voice says they are suffocating from teargas. Another video shows men chanting with gunshots in the background.