Syria’s new authorities have arrested a military justice official who issued death sentences for people held in the notorious Sayednaya prison under the ousted government of President Bashar Assad, the Syria war monitor said on Thursday.
Mohammed Kanjo Hassan was arrested along with 20 members of his entourage in Tartus province, a stronghold of Assad’s clan, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory said Kanjo Hassam issued “thousands” of sentences against people detained at Sayednaya – including the death penalty.
According to Diab Seria, co-founder of the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Saydnaya Prison (ADMSP), Kanjo Hassan led the Syrian Military Field Court from 2011 to 2014, the first three years of the country’s civil war.
Later, Kanjo Hassan was promoted to head of military justice throughout Syria, according to Syria, who said he sentenced “thousands of people” to death, often in “trials lasting a few minutes”.
The group believes Kanjo Hassan made $150 million (€143 million) from bribes paid by relatives of detainees eager to get information about their loved ones.
Most of the Syednaya prisoners are still missing
The Sayednaya compound is the site of extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances.
It is located near Damascus.
Located about 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of Damascus, the Sayednaya compound was the site of extrajudicial executions, torture and forced disappearances, and a symbol of the atrocities imposed on Assad’s opponents.
ADMSP estimates that 30,000 people were taken to the facility since 2011, while only 6,000 have been released, with others still missing.
International organizations have called for the establishment of mechanisms for justice and accountability in Syria.
ftm/jsi (AFP)
