Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 November 2018
156. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the situation of detainees in a prison (details supplied) going on hunger strike; the efforts being made at EU level to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48312/18]
View answerOver the past seven years, we have been horrified by the suffering caused by the Syria conflict, and by the acts of the Assad regime in relation to its people. This conflict actually began, in March 2011, as a result of popular revulsion against the mistreatment of people in custody.
Ireland and the EU have repeatedly condemned violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in Syria, some of which may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity. Ireland has called on numerous occasions for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court.
I am aware of reports that a hunger strike began in Hama Central Prison on 12 November. The same prison was reported to be the site of conflict in 2016 when hundreds of detainees were reported to have protested over the transfer of prisoners to the notorious Saydnaya prison near Damascus, where they expected to be sentenced to death by an extra-judicial military tribunal.
It has been reported that the current hunger strike was commenced by prisoners in protest of death sentences issued against them by the Assad regime. Ireland is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all cases and in all circumstances. Accordingly, Ireland, together with the rest of the EU, seeks the universal abolition of the death penalty.
I unreservedly condemn any violation of the human rights of prisoners, and call on all parties to the Syria conflict to ensure protection of human rights. The EU has made very clear, over a period of many years, our strong condemnation of all the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Assad regime. The regime is in no doubt about the strength of our views.
