Syrian authorities have released over 500 prisoners accused of involvement in anti-regime activities, state TV reported yesterday, in what appeared to be another gesture to comply with the Arab League plan to end the regime’s 9-month-old crackdown on dissent. The plan, being monitored by about 100 Arab League observers now in Syria, requires President Bashar Assad’s regime to remove security forces and heavy weapons from cities, start talks with opposition leaders and free political prisoners.
The League claims it has won some concessions from Syria, including the pullout of heavy military weaponry from cities and the release of thousands of prisoners.
However, Syria’s opposition is accusing the regime of misleading the monitors by taking them to areas loyal to the government, changing street signs to confuse them, painting army vehicles blue to look like those of police and sending supporters into rebellious neighborhoods to give false testimony.
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said on Tuesday Syria had released about 3,500 detainees in recent weeks. And state television said Thursday another 552 had been released. But activists said Syria was still holding at least 25,000 political detainees.
The figures are impossible to verify, with Assad’s regime continuing to bar almost all foreign journalists or human rights groups from entering Syria even though that is one of the stipulations in the Arab League plan. Assad agreed to the plan on Dec. 19. The Arab League has acknowledged that its plan has failed to stop violence. Activists have reported nearly 400 deaths since the monitors began work last week. The United Nations said several weeks ago that more than 5,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March. In the weeks that followed, hundreds more have died, according to activists.