Syria Frees 755 Detained in Unrest

Syria on Wednesday released from jail 755 prisoners who had been involved in anti-regime unrest, state television said, as Arab observers deployed in flashpoint hubs to implement a peace deal.

"Seven hundred and fifty-five prisoners who had been involved in the recent incidents in Syria and who did not have Syrian blood on their hands have been released" from prison, the state broadcaster said in a news flash.

Releasing prisoners is one of the key conditions of an Arab League roadmap approved by Syria last month to end the country's crisis. The accord also calls for an end to repression of pro-democracy protests.

More than 4,300 prisoners arrested during a crackdown on regime opponents were released in November, according to Syrian authorities.

Rights groups and the United Nations estimate that several thousand people have been arrested since anti-regime protests erupted in mid-March, while the U.N. puts the death toll at more than 5,000.

The latest reported released comes a day after Human Rights Watch accused the regime of hiding hundreds of detainees held in its crackdown on dissent from Arab observers visiting the country.

"Syrian authorities have transferred perhaps hundreds of detainees to off-limits military sites to hide them from Arab League monitors now in the country," HRW said.

"The Arab League should insist on full access to all Syrian sites used for detention, consistent with its agreement with the Syrian government," the global watchdog said in a statement.