A riot in a Syrian prison holding political detainees has ended with at least 25 killed by military police, according to the BBC. (Although most Syrians are Muslim, the state is secular and Islamists, like any other dissenting population, are viewed as a threat.) The United States considers Syria a state sponsor of terrorism.

Inmates have managed to report their situation to the BBC, as well as to human rights groups within and beyond Syria. Their reports of their treatment by guards following the protests should sound familiar to anyone following news of Guantanamo Bay detainees’ reports.

One inmate told the BBC the guards had roughly treated the prisoners during the raid. "They shackled our hands behind us, confiscated our clothes and possessions, and beat us. And they insulted the Koran, they trod on the Koran," he told the BBC's Arabic service.

It seems worth speculating that Guantanamo heightened global attention on the plight of political detainees has been well noted by detainees themselves. In combination with ever more efficient communications, political prisoners may have found their global voice.

According to the BBC article, an inmate was reached by the Syrian Human Rights Observer by mobile phone, which in turn alerted other news agencies.

It will be interesting to see whether the U.S. State Department attempts a response to the situation. While not directly linked to U.S. interests or security, the event is not small either. Moreover, heightened global sensitivity to detainee treatment, and rough treatment of Muslims (whether Islamist or not) in political detention may drag the U.S. into a word scuffle anyway. The event is not a small thing: Several hundred soldiers guards are reportedly being held hostage, and the Syrian Human Rights Observer has characterized the event as a "massacre." Under other circumstances, the United States could reaffirm its opposition to Syria and vaunt its own dedication to human rights for anyone imprisoned for their beliefs. But these days, its overt antagonism to any form of Islamist politics, as well as its own treatment of detainees, is likely to interfere with its ability to communicate disapproval that will be accepted easily.