DAMASCUS: A Syrian investigator has been detained and referred to prosecutors after an official investigation concluded that a slap he delivered during questioning led to the death of a 29-year-old detainee with a medical condition, state news agency SANA reported on Thursday.
Authorities had earlier detained seven people on Sunday as part of an investigation into the death of Mohammad Ghamira, who died in the hospital following his release from a police station in western Latakia.
An Interior Ministry committee formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ghamira’s death referred detective Ahmad Jawad to the Public Prosecution in Latakia after it was proven that he hit the detainee.
Maj. Gen. Ahmad Latouf, head of the investigation committee and assistant interior minister for police affairs, said that medical experts determined that Ghamira, who suffered from haemophilia, a condition that impairs the blood’s ability to clot, died from complications of a cerebral haemorrhage.
The investigation found that Ghamira had informed Internal Security personnel of his medical condition before Jawad slapped him on the neck during questioning, SANA reported.
Latouf said Ghamira, who worked for Syria’s Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, suffered from a serious chronic condition that required special treatment during questioning but that appropriate measures were not taken.
The interior ministry said that Jawad’s action had “explicitly violated” its instructions and code of conduct, which prohibit humiliating or abusive treatment of detainees.
The committee also tasked the interior ministry with “expanding the disciplinary investigation” to include the head of the station and another investigator, according to Lattouf.
He pledged that those found responsible for failures in Ghamira’s treatment would face appropriate punishment.
Ghamira was detained following a theft complaint.
Brig. Gen. Hussein Al-Hammadi, director of the Criminal Investigations Department, said there had been negligence and procedural shortcomings by the police department chief and investigator, including a failure to record Ghamira’s medical condition in the official report.
Forensic experts found no skull fractures or traumatic wounds and no visible signs of severe force on Ghamira’s body, according to SANA.
The examination documented small bruises on his forehead and foot that medical experts attributed to haemorrhaging associated with his condition. A cut and puncture wound on his forehead were linked to a medical procedure performed at Latakia University Hospital, while skin cracks on his abdomen were attributed to prolonged corticosteroid treatment.
As part of his job, Ghamira had taken part in operations to rescue hundreds of people trapped beneath rubble following bombardments by the former President Bashar Assad government and its allies, according to SANA.
His death caused widespread criticism and condemnations and recalled for many Syrians the ill-treatment detainees suffered under the Assad family’s infamous prison system before the regime was toppled in December 2024.
The Interior Ministry stressed its personnel were subject to the law “without exception” and that abuses of authority would not be tolerated.
Ghamira’s body has been returned to his family for burial.
