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.
