Syria accuses Israel of torturing a Syrian prisoner
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Syria is accusing Israel of torturing and mistreating a Syrian prisoner being held on espionage charges.
Syria asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "to intervene directly" to save the life of Sidqi al-Maqt, an Arab Druze. It said in a letter circulated Wednesday that Ban should ask the Human Rights Council to follow up on al-Maqt's condition, end Israel's "maltreatment" and secure his immediate release.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Thursday the Syrian letter "has absolutely nothing to do with reality" and called it "a cynical and manipulative attempt to divert attention from the dismal state of human rights in Syria."
Al-Maqt previously served 27 years in an Israeli prison for security offenses.
