Beirut: Several human rights groups say that a prominent Syrian lawyer has suffered a cut requiring 10 stitches after he was assaulted in his prison cell by an inmate.
Muhannad Al Hassani is serving a three-year sentence for spreading false information and "weakening national sentiments" - a term often used in Syria against those who challenge the regime.
He headed the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights and, as a leading lawyer, handled cases of political prisoners in Syria and led calls for their release.
On Thursday, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and several other groups said that Al Hassani was physically assaulted on October 28 by a prisoner sentenced for a criminal offense.
The two were sharing a cell in Adra prison in Damascus.
