The 11 men were arrested between 2011 and 2015 by branches of the military and security services in Syria, and have been detained in Hama Central Prison since.
On the basis of confessions extracted under torture, the 11 prisoners were accused of “terrorism-related offenses resulting in death”, which is punishable by death. They were then sentenced to death by Military Field Courts in Damascus between 2016 and 2017 following two-minute proceedings, which violated their right to a fair trial.
The execution of their sentences was postponed due to an inmates’ mutiny at Hama Central Prison in May 2016 to protest against the transfers of prisoners to Sednaya Military Prison for their execution. However, in early November 2018, Hama’s military judge requested the transfer of the 11 prisoners to Sednaya Military Prison, where thousands of arbitrary executions by hanging have been carried out by the authorities based on death sentences issued by Military Field Courts following unfair trials.
On November 12, 2018, fellow inmates at Hama Central Prison began a hunger strike to stop the transfer of the 11 prisoners to Sednaya.
On November 19, MENA Rights Group and the Syrian Commission for Releasing Detainees referred the cases to the UN to urgently call upon the Syrian authorities to halt the execution of the death sentences against the 11 prisoners.
