Syrian prison riot shrouded in silence(Read article summary)
The unrest in the facility, which holds more than 10,000 Islamists, democracy activists, and intellectuals, in addition to regular criminals, comes as the West moves to reengage with Damascus.
A riot by political prisoners at Syria's Sedneya prison was violently put down this week under the cover of a media blackout, leaving human rights organizations scrambling to discover the extent of the casualties.
The fighting and its media coverup began just days before President Bashar al-Assad is due to attend a Paris summit on the creation of a Mediterranean Union, a major step toward Western reengagement with Damascus.
The riot began on Saturday as a protest by prisoners against poor treatment in the jail, which holds more than 10,000 political prisoners, mostly Islamists, democracy activists, and Lebanese detained during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, which ended in 2005. Days later, little is still known about what happened at Sednaya and the true extent of the casualties.
Syrian authorities will not reveal the number of fatalities and injuries nor the timeline of events that led to the fighting. Most estimates of casualties have been provided by human rights activists working in the region, who claim that the Syrian authorities responded to the riot with live ammunition, helicopters, tanks, and tear gas.