Syrian prisoner who murdered wife ends six-hour standoff with grenade after demands met

A prisoner in Syria who threatened to blow up a bus with a hand grenade ended a nearly six-hour standoff on Wednesday morning after demands to see his family were met.

Qusay Al-Arbeed allegedly obtained the hand grenade while leaving court in the southern governorate of Suweida from a relative of his, and was being transported to prison with nine other detainees.

He then pulled the safety pin from the explosive, and for more than six hours threatened to detonate it if authorities did not let him see his mother and daughter.

A sheikh who was negotiating with Al-Arbeed told The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the prisoner had reached a "point of despair", but insisted on seeing his daughter and child.

The sheikh added that his demands were eventually met after mediation from The Men of Dignity movement, a prominent Druze militia in Sweida.

The hand grenade was then tossed in a nearby school playground and blew up without any casualties.

Al-Arbeed is on trial for murdering his wife, but he says the sentence issued against him was "unfair" as it was a so-called "honour killing", local sources Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

No further details on the crime were given.

So-called honour killings and femicides remain rife in the war-torn nation and in other parts of the Middle East. Men convicted of such crimes are often given lighter sentences by judges.

Suweida has managed to largely distance itself from much of the 11-year-old Syrian conflict, as the Druze population has held a historic degree of autonomy. Over the last few years, relations between Bashar Al-Assad's regime and Suweida have worsened as Syria's economic crisis deepened and the security situation deteriorates.

Armed gangs have kidnapped scores of locals for ransom leading residents to suspect that the gangs worked on the regime's orders.