Syrian authorities have arrested seven security personnel in connection with the death of a man who died shortly after being released from police custody, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.
Mohammad Ghamira, a member the Syrian Civil Defence, died of internal bleeding in hospital on Sunday after he was released from a police station in Haffah, in Latakia province, a Syrian aid official told The National. Mr Ghamira had been arrested in connection with an unspecified complaint.
“He told them that he had haemophilia, but it appears that he was subjected to some beating that was enough to kill him,” the official said. “Police should not lay hands on anyone, let alone someone with his condition.”
Mr Ghamira's death raises concerns about continued ill-treatment of detainees in Syria despite the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad's autocratic regime in December 2024.
The Interior Ministry said it had opened an investigation into the case and that the police station chief was among the seven people arrested.
During the Assad family's rule from 1970 to 2024, authorities did not take significant action against anyone in the state system suspected of abusing prisoners, although transgressions were rife.
Hadi Al Abdullah, an activist who is pro-government, said Mr Ghamira's “blood must not go in vain” and that his assailants should receive the toughest punishment to prevent a repeat.
Mr Abdullah, who has 3.9 million followers on Facebook, said in a video statement that the label “died under torture” must not be allowed to “exist in the new Syria”.
Several incidents of beatings and suspected deaths from beatings by security forces have been reported under the post-Assad authorities.
Among the most high-profile cases was the beating of a judge at a police station in Aleppo in March last year. Four months later, a former refugee in Germany died in police custody in Damascus, after he was arrested at the Umayyad Mosque.
