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The Attorney General of Hama announcing his resignation
The attorney general for the Syrian flashpoint city of Hama resigned on Wednesday in a statement published on youtube.
“I, the attorney general of Hama, Adnan Muhammad al-Bakkour, announce my resignation from my position in the state that is shadowed by [President Bashar al-Assad] and his gangs,” Bakkour said in the subtitled video.
Al-Bakkour his resignation is the first high-profile defection in the six-month-long government crackdown on demonstators.
He gave a number of reasons for his resignation. When Syrian security forces killed a number of demonstrators in Hama, he said that he was forced to falsify reports, saying that “armed gangs” were responsible.
Seventy-two demonstrators were executed on July 31 in Hama after being arrested by Syrian troops, says al-Bakkour. The Syrian army had attacked the city in an attempt to break the back of the protest movement, which has been particularly strong in Hama.
Al-Bakkour said another 420 people were killed on that day and they were mainly buried in mass graves in public parks.
State-run media refuted the claims, saying that he was kidnapped by “armed terrorist groups” and was forced to “say these lies at gunpoint.”
Al-Bakkour later released another video refuting the government claims that his resignation was a forced.
