Mysterious Syria’s Hasakah Prison fire pains families of victims

By Samer Yassin

HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Gathered around their grandmother, a group of children formed a tight circle, their eyes fixed on a photograph in their grandmother’s wrinkled hand.

It was the picture of their grandfather, who they had never met. As the children traced the lines of their grandfather’s face, their grandmother’s eyes reflected the weight of a tragic tale.

She cannot tell them that their grandfather had died in a fire that broke out in Hasakah prison over three decades ago.

In her house in the town of Tel Tamr in northern Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, the grandmother commemorates her husband’s death, who had passed away in a devastating fire that ravaged a prison run by the Syrian government over three decades ago. However, due to the painful nature of the event, it seems inappropriate to share the details with children at such a young age.

On March 23, 1993, a fire erupted in Hasakah prison, claiming the lives of more than 60 detainees who were held on various charges, including political, criminal, drug trafficking, and even minor offenses.

Among the victims of the prison fire was Muhammad Haj Aref Muhammad, born in 1960. The father of eight children and worked as a porter. His family still resides in the Tel Ahmar neighborhood in the town of Tel Tamr.

Funeral without body

Mehdiya Koty, 63 years old, finds comfort in remembering her late husband with some of her children and grandchildren at home. Only looking at photos and reminisce, choosing not to visit the grave where they are unsure if his body lies there or not.

She told North Press that the fire occurred three months and three days after her husband’s arrest over charges of purchasing smuggled tobacco, despite he was working as porter.

Instead of visiting the grave where they are unsure if his body lies there or not, they choose to only look at photos and reminisce, she noted.

The authorities who informed her of her husband’s death in the prison did not deliver his body to the family. A police officer informed them that they had buried him in the village of Ub al-Naqa east of Tel Tamr, but no documents or confirmations were provided.

“When the police officers visited us on the day of the incident, they initially informed us that the body was mistakenly transferred to the city of Sere Kaniye and would be returned. However, later on, they mentioned that they were concerned about the family’s reaction at that time, so they decided to bury him in a nearby village and then inform us,” the grandmother said, reflecting on the lack of clarity surrounding her husband’s burial.

Despite having visited the grave before, the grandmother doesn’t feel connected to it. She had a dream where her husband said it wasn’t his grave, which deepened her doubts even more.

To support her children, Koty sold chickens and food, which affected her health and mobility, despite her age.

She is proud of what she has achieved. Her youngest son, who was a month old during the incident, is now over 30 with four children.

No evidence

Muhammad, the son who was named after his father, understands the importance of being present for his own children, having experienced his father’s absence during his own childhood.

“It’s not just my father who died in prison; there are probably many fathers and even sole children who suffered the same fate,” he added, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of the tragedy.

The Syrian government has not revealed the true causes and details of the fire. A report sent by the Hasakah police to the Ministry of Interior in Damascus claimed that the fire was caused by drug addicts detained in the prison.

On May 24 of that year, the authorities carried out the execution of five detainees accused of starting the fire. However, the families of the victims and survivors of the tragedy view it as a fabricated plan orchestrated by the security agencies and prison administration.

The fire at Hasakah prison claimed the lives of 72 individuals, including those who were executed by the authorities.

According to some survivors, the prison administration provided the inmates with a significant amount of gasoline after depriving them of it for a period. Additionally, flammable substances were allegedly sprayed on the walls under the guise of insecticides.

The majority of the victims were laid to rest in pre-prepared graves by the security agencies, without any official documentation or handover of the bodies.

Muhammad, along with other families of the victims, accuses the Syrian government of orchestrating the incident and concealing evidence that would hold them accountable. They believe that the true perpetrators have escaped justice, leaving this tragic event as another dark chapter in Syrian prisons, where violations have been documented both before and after 2011.