While the world speaks of human rights and child protection, three children from Swaida—Karim Hassan Amer, Yanal Bashar Al-Haddad, and Qais Bashar Al-Haddad—languish behind the bars of the notorious Adra Central Prison in Damascus. These children have committed no crime warranting their imprisonment in a facility designed for dangerous felons. Instead, it appears their only “offense” is being used as “hostages” in a political and military struggle where the de facto authorities use every means possible to pressure the local community.
The News: Hunger Strike Echoes Behind Prison Walls
In a dramatic escalation, the “innocent” detainees from Swaida in Adra Prison have announced an open-ended hunger strike. This cry from the cells is not merely a protest against ill-treatment, but a defiant rejection of the policy of “fabricating charges”—a policy that has not spared even those who have not yet reached the age of majority. International bodies have been notified of this strike, holding the authorities fully responsible for any deterioration in the health of the strikers, especially the children.
The Official Narrative: Throwing Dust in the Eyes
Suleiman Abdul Baqi, acting as the director of the so-called “Provincial Security,” issued a statement attempting to “legalize” this violation. The statement claimed that the children, Yanal and Qais Al-Haddad, were detained on criminal charges (theft and sabotage of state property) based on old records. It further alleged that their transfer to Damascus was a “precautionary measure” to ensure their safety following shelling that targeted their initial detention centers in Swaida.
The Narrative of Misinformation: Debunking Lies with LogicUpon scrutinizing the official statement, we are faced with a “misleading narrative” par excellence, one that collapses under the simplest logical examination:
1. The Myth of the “Great Escape” and Superhuman Strength:
The statement claims the two children “fled” on January 8, 2025. Reason dictates we ask: How could a 13-year-old child (Yanal Al-Haddad) possess the physical strength and tactical skill to breach the security of a heavily fortified central prison under strict guard? Furthermore, if this escape occurred before the recent “massacres,” why did the security apparatus mobilize with “surgical precision” to re-arrest them, while hundreds of actual outlaws and murderers roam free?
2. The “Savior State” Amidst Chaos:
While the authorities were promoting the narrative that Swaida was witnessing a “civil war” and sectarian strife between clans and the Druze, the statement now conveniently adopts the persona of the “Official State,” claiming it was the “savior” that moved detainees for their safety. This contradiction reveals that the authorities wear the mask of the “State” only when they wish to justify arbitrary detention, and discard it when they seek to evade responsibility for the massacres.
3. The Trap of the “Suspicious Return”:
A fundamental question destroys the credibility of the statement: If the children had truly escaped in January, as the statement alleges, how did they suddenly reappear inside the “Criminal Investigation” branch at the moment of the shelling to be transferred to Adra? Did they voluntarily return to the site of the shelling? Or is the entire “escape” story a “legal fabrication” designed to legitimize their subsequent kidnapping?
Conclusion: Children, Not “Criminal Case Numbers”
What is happening in Adra Prison is not a judicial procedure; it is “hostage-taking” in the clearest sense. Labeling the children of Swaida as inmates charged with “sabotaging fixed capital” is a mockery of justice and human dignity.
We are witnessing a desperate attempt by the de facto authorities to restore their “prestige” through the gateway of children, forgetting that the glaring contradictions in their statements have become undeniable evidence of their falsehood. Freedom for Karim, Yanal, and Qais, and freedom for all detainees whose empty stomachs are today fighting the battle of dignity against fabrication and injustice.