Damascus used 'grossly excessive' force, says Amnesty

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL has accused the Syrian government of using “grossly excessive” force to quell largely peaceful popular protests that have taken place across the country since mid-March.

In a 36-page report entitled Deadly Detentions, published today, Amnesty says it has documented the deaths of 1,800 people who were reportedly killed or who died "during or in connection with the protests . . . many . . . believed to have been shot by the security forces with live ammunition while attending peaceful protests or attending funerals of people killed in earlier protests. Thousands of other people have been arrested, with many held incommunicado at unknown locations at which torture and other ill-treatment are reported to be rife."

Some “have died in detention in highly suspicious circumstances”, Amnesty adds.

The international human rights organisation notes President Bashar al-Assad has lifted the 48-year emergency law and issued legislative reforms with the aim of countering protests, but points out these measures have been regarded by the protesters as “too little, too late”. Assad has consequently used hardline methods to crush the unrest.

The organisation’s report focuses on 88 deaths in custody during the period between April 1st and August 15th. Amnesty says this “figure for four and a half months . . is already many times higher than the yearly average over recent years”. Amnesty observes that Syria “has a history of high levels of deaths in custody, including many cases where torture” was allegedly involved.

In at least 52 of the cases in the survey, these was evidence, it said, “that torture caused or contributed to the deaths”. All of the cases covered are of men and boys, aged from 13 to 72; 10 were children below 17 years. Most arrests seem to have taken place following demonstrations.

Military and air force intelligence and the criminal security department were responsible for mass arrests, particularly in locations where large popular protests took place. Detainees are often held incommunicado or “in conditions of enforced disappearance”.

Detainees are frequently beaten, slapped and kicked by security agents, while whipping and beating with rifle butts are less common.

Amnesty mentions several who have had their necks broken, while a few have been tortured with electric shocks or burnt with cigarettes.

Some of the victims’ bodies had been mutilated before or after death with the aim of inducing terror in their families, Amnesty states. Others seem to have been victims of summary execution.

“Many of the deaths became known only when the victims’ bodies were handed to their families by the authorities, or families were contacted and told to collect their bodies from the morgue,” the report states.

Of the 88 cases reported by Amnesty, only two were investigated by the Syrian authorities with the aim of prosecuting those involved. One of these fatalities was of Hamza al-Khatib (13), whose mutilated body was returned to his parents many weeks after he was detained or disappeared. There have been no independent investigations of such cases.

Material presented in the report was gathered from refugees and others who fled Syria. The regime has not allowed Amnesty officials into the country.

However, in 45 of the cases mentioned in the report, families of the deceased were able to film the bodies in order to document the injuries inflicted. The names of commentators and witnesses are not disclosed as this could put them in jeopardy.

Amnesty concludes the high number of deaths during the protests and of fatalities in custody “appear to be part of a widespread . . . systematic attack . . . against the civilian population, carried out in an organised manner and pursuant to a state policy to commit such an attack”.

Consequently, Amnesty “has called on the UN Security Council to not only condemn, in a firm and legally binding manner, the mass human rights violations being committed in Syria, but also to take other measures to hold those responsible to account, including by referring the situation in Syria to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court”.

Amnesty also recommends that the Security Council impose an arms embargo on Syria and freeze assets of Assad and others blamed for “crimes against humanity”.