Muhanad al-Hassani was released after 22 months in prison on 3 June 2011. Almost a year earlier, he was convicted to a three year prison sentence. Earlier, human rights lawyer Haitham al-Maleh was also released before completing a three year prison sentence.
The Syrian regime has granted amnesty to many political prisoners at the end of May 2011. This does unfortunately not mean that it has stopped with the violent suppression of protests.
Lawyer Anwar al-Bunni was released in the week of 22 May 2011 after completing a five year prison sentence. He was arrested in May 2006 after he had signed a petition calling for improving the relation between Syria and Lebanon. In April 2007 he was convicted to a five year prison sentence. During his detention, Al-Bunni has been mistreated, just like Muhannad al-Hassani. Here you can find an Amnesty International interview with Anwar al-Bunni, in which he tells about his experiences in prison.
