Syrian authorities release 552 detainees

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria's state-run TV says authorities have released 552 prisoners who were involved in anti-regime activities during the nine-month uprising against President Bashar Assad.

It is the second group of prisoners to be released in a week under an Arab League plan meant to stop the government's crackdown on dissent, which has claimed thousands of lives. Besides halting the violence, the plan calls for the release of all political prisoners. About 3,500 were freed on Tuesday, January 3.

Following January 5 TV report, activists said Syria was still holding at least 25,000 political detainees.

The Arab plan so far has failed to stop the violence. Activists have reported several hundred deaths even while a team of Arab League monitors is on the ground in Syria in an attempt to ensure the regime's compliance.

Activists accused the Syrian regime Wednesday, January 4 of misleading Arab League observers by taking them to areas loyal to the government, changing street signs to confuse them and sending regime supporters into rebellious neighborhoods to give false testimony.

The monthlong observer mission, which started Dec. 27, offers a rare outside glimpse into a country where a government crackdown on a 9-month-old uprising has killed more than 5,000 people. But there are fears Assad loyalists have corrupted the observer process beyond repair.

There was no immediate comment from the Arab League. But Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi denied the allegations.

Activists also said regime loyalists are painting military vehicles blue to make them look like police vehicles—a ploy that allows the government to claim it has pulled the army out of heavily populated areas in accordance with the Arab League plan that was supposed to end the government's crackdown on dissent.

The plan requires the government to remove security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders and free political prisoners. Syria agreed to it on Dec. 19, paving the way for the observers to enter. About 100 monitors are in the country now to assess whether the regime is complying.

But the Arab League has acknowledged that killings have gone on, even with the observers on the ground. Activists put the death toll at more than 400 people since Dec. 21, AP reported.