Syria police investigator referred over detainee death

A Syrian official committee said Thursday it had referred police investigator Ahmed Jawad to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Latakia over the death of Mohammed Ghumeira after his release from detention.

Ahmad Lattouf, head of the committee investigating the case, said the committee found, based on testimony from detained police station personnel, that Jawad had slapped Ghumeira during interrogation. Lattouf said the station head had informed Jawad that Ghumeira had a sensitive medical condition.

Authorities said Sunday that seven people had been detained over the death of Ghumeira, a 29-year-old who had haemophilia, a disorder in which blood does not clot properly.

The emergencies and disaster management ministry said Ghumeira was one of its personnel and had died from complications of brain and gastrointestinal haemorrhaging after being beaten following his detention at a police station in western Latakia province.

Lattouf said the committee had asked the interior ministry to expand the disciplinary investigation to include the station head and another investigator. He said Ghumeira's treatment had been a mistake and that the "grave error" would be addressed through the judiciary.

Lattouf also said a report by assigned doctors found no signs of violence or physical torture on Ghumeira's body.

A member of Ghumeira's family told AFP on Sunday that Ghumeira had been accused of stealing a large sum of money before being released for insufficient evidence, and alleged that he had been badly tortured before his health deteriorated and he died.

Oussama Shannak, the attorney general for Latakia, said legal procedures would be expedited so that anyone proven to be involved in negligence or dereliction of duty would be punished.

Ghumeira's death drew criticism and condemnation in Syria. Activists and human rights organisations called for accountability, especially after reports of other detainees dying at the hands of security forces.