Introduction
Applicable law in Syrian conflict
The nature of Syrian conflict has been described as a non-international armed conflict that should be governed by international humanitarian law as well as the international human rights law
All the laws state the illegality of the use of torture , as in the customary norms of international human rights law :
V. Treatment of Civilians and Persons Hors de Combat
Chapter 32 Fundamental guarantees
Rule 90 Torture, cruel or inhuman treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, are prohibited.
Rule 91 Corporal punishment is prohibited.
Chapter 37 Persons Deprived of Their Liberty
Rule 118 Persons deprived of their liberty must be provided with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter and medical attention.
Rule 119 Women who are deprived of their liberty must be held in quarters separate from those of men, except where families are accommodated as family units, and must be under the immediate supervision of women.
Rule 120 Accommodation for Children Deprived of Their Liberty
Rule 120 Children who are deprived of their liberty must be held in quarters separate from those of adults, except where families are accommodated as family units.
And also the Rome Statute in Article VII: Torture is a crime against humanity in Article VIII considered a war crime.
Report :
Syrian Government Troops arrested at least 194000 Syrian citizens , including nearly 9000 under the age of 18 , 5400 women ( 1200 of them are female colleague students) and 35,000 male colleague students ,according to the last survey conducted by Syrian Network for Human Rights.
60,000 of the detainees are enforced disappearance, According to the standard of enforced disappearances "Enforced disappearance takes place when a person is arrested, detained, abducted or otherwise deprived of their liberty by Syrian Government Troops officials or by organized groups or private individuals whose actions are condoned by the Syrian Government Troops in some way.
Since the revolt against Bashar Alassad in March 2011 until 31-3-2013 , Syrian Government Troops systematically and intentionally violated these laws and international conventions using violence torture methods against detainees , which led to kill 2305 Syrian citizens under torture ,including 80 children , 25 ladies , 51 aged ( more than 60 years old ) , and 107 armed rebels ( less than 5% of the toll victims under torture )
SNHR has noticed the raise of torture and torturing to death frequency in the last four months which led to increase the number of victims tortured to death since the Syrian upraise to unprecedented high levels
March 2013: the highest rate of torturing to death was in this month, 149 citizens killed under torture, an average of 5 citizens every day.
There are a huge number of cases for those who tortured to death not be able to documented cause of restrictions and deprivation of work on Syrian territory, that’s mean the real number could be far greater, especially that there are prisons who torturing people to death and then throw the bodies in vacant land or in rivers, so it will decompose and disintegrate and blur the crime
According to SNHR methodology, all statistics issued attach with files contain very accurate details for each case, that’s gained SNHR high credibility with Arab and international hands
The following link contain PDF file shows names and details for victims tortured to death
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Bj18tlYYKBazlZN1R1NkdaWmM/edit
Distribution of victims tortured to death by governorate as follows:
Homs: 573
Daraa : 360
Damascus countryside : 336
Idlib : 291
Hama : 185
Damascus : 181
Aleppo : 138
Lattakia : 61
Dier Alzoor : 87
Lattakia : 61
Qunaitra : 33
Other Nationalities : 26
Hasaka : 18
Tartous : 10
Raqqa : 5
Swidaa : 1
Chapter 39of Customary IHL
Other Persons Afforded Specific Protection
Rule 134. The specific protection, health and assistance needs of women affected by armed conflict must be respected.
Rule 135. Children affected by armed conflict are entitled to special respect and protection.
Rule 138. The elderly, disabled and infirm affected by armed conflict are entitled to special respect and protection
Syrian Government Troops did not take into account the human nature of women ,children and elderly , on the contrary they use against children the same torturing methods against men committing multiply crimes
The systematic torture of children detainees ( nearly 9000 ) led to kill 80 of them documented by name , place , date , photo and video in the following link
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Bj18tlYYKBRzFvaEcxNmFjQUU/edit
The same horrible practices committed against more than 4500 women detainees , 25 documented women have been tortured to death , most of them in Homs province
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Bj18tlYYKBUEk0UWdSNmptUkE/edit
Documented torturing methods which claimed the lives of 2305 citizens are 46 methods divided into three positions :
First: torture methods : SNHR could document 9 positions
Second : Various kinds of torturing ( 22 cases )
Third : Psychological torture (12 cases)
First: torture methods : SNHR could document 9 positions
1- Ghost Technique ( Shabeh position ) : hanging victims to bathroom cieling from the wrists while he stands on a chair , then took the chair so the victim will stand on the groung by his / her big toy
Another case of Shabeh , known as fly ghost , where they tightened one of his/her feet with the victims hand using the same rope for many hours and even day or two , causing hands inflation or even cut
2- Tire position ( Dulab ) the victim is forced to bend at the waist and stick his head, neck, legs and sometimes arms into the inside of a car tire , then stat beating him on different parts of his body
3- Flying Carpet position ( Basat Al-reeh ) involves tying the victim down to a two sections flat so that the detainee’s hands and feet get tied to the front and back of the plank, and his face on the ground of it. Then, the front side of the plank is lifted as to fold it so that the body of the detainee gets folded until his head touches his feet. This leads to a dangerous stretch in the ligaments and nerves of the spine, which results the most dreadful kind of pain a person can suffer from. Meanwhile, another person is beating the detainee.
4- Crucify : the hands and legs of the detainee are tightened like a crucified person then they beat him/her specifically on genitals
5- Hanging: the hands are tied behind the back, then the detainee is hanged up and beaten with sticks and wires.
6- Smashing, where a detainee head is placed between the wall and thedoor of the prison, the door is closed on the head of the detainee.
7- Electrocution: a metal chair, the detainee is seated on it, then they put on the electric current.
8- Electric shocks to various parts of body
9- The German chair ( Al-kursi al-Almani ) : a metal chair with moving parts to which the victim is tied by hands and feet. The prackrest of the chair bebds backwords causing acute hyperextension of the spine and severe pressure on the vicitms neck and limbs
Second : Various kinds of torturing ( 22 cases )
1- Using all methods of beating on all body parts by different tools such as stake and electric cables, called colloquially ( Robai ) , to beat on the soles and tread on the head.
2- Completely uprooting fingernails.
3- Removinghair from different parts of the body
4- Cutting out flesh by forceps from sensitive organs
5- Rapping male and femal detainees
6- Forcing the detainee to rape his/her cell mate
7- Cutting out some parts of the detainee body; such as finger, flesh, or stabbing in the back or stomach
8- burning detinee`s skin using chemical acids or cigarettes.
9- exposing the detainee after being enforced to take off all clothes and covers to extreme cold.
10- depriving the detainee from medical care totally as there is a lack of medical care in large number of prisons.
11- Prevnting the detainee to use the toilet but once or twice a day, forcing him/her sometimes to urinate on himself/herself. If the detainee is allowed to use toilet, the period may not exceed a minute. The detainee is also prevented from taking shower, going out and breathing fresh air.
12- Keeping a large number of detainees in a small cell (keeping 45 detainees in a 15 meter cell, Air Force Intelligence, Aleppo).
13- Pouring cold water over the body after being hit and wounded.
14- Cracking ribs.
15- insufficient amount of water and food which are not enough for a quarter of detainees.
16- Standing up on foot and hung up from hands for successive days.
17- Using underground cells without ventilation.
18- Pouring boiling oil or water over legs
19- Cutting the ear using the clipper used to trim the trees.
20- Stressing ears and nose using mallet.
21- Hanging up and then tying something heavy to the penis.
22- Electric shocking, specialy in breasts, knees, and elbows.
Third : Psychological torture (14 cases) :
SNHR documented the most systematic and practice 14 cases :
1- Forcing the detainee to watch his/her mate being raped.
2- Threatening the detainee that they will rape him/ her .
3- Force the detainee to watch his/her mates tortured and tortured to death.
4- Threatening the detainee with arresting his wife, mother or sister and rapping or torturing her in front of his eyes then make him see naked femal detainees in the prison.
5- Threatening the detainee of torturing to death or slaughtering with knifes.
6- Offensing and assaulting the detainee`s religious beleifs.
7- Putting male and femal detainees in the same prison and in some cases strip them in front of the executioners
8- Putting detainee with dying person in the same cell
9- Putting detainee with dead person in the same cell
10- Assaulting the detainee and his family by obscene insult
11- Forcing the detainee to admit crimes he did not commit or they will double the torture.
12- Commanding the detainee to prostrate for Assad`s portraite.
13- Deluding the detainee that he/she is going to be released and opening the cell’s door, then bringing him/her back for torture.
14- Taking the detainee to the prison’s doctor for treatment. The doctor hits him/her on the painful part, then the detainee is taken back to be re-tortured. So that none ask again for doctor.
On the other hand, there are groups of armed rebels committed torturing acts against detainees of Shabiha , Security and Syrian army considered as a war crimes , but remain within the framework of individual attacks unsystematic and non-extensive mostly as a reaction of killing father , mother , or torturing son or relative , as we did not record single incident indicates a partisan political or ideological or sectarian or tribal attack condemned in the strongest terms and have been recorded and documented and will be prosecuted criminals and offenders who committed
Condemnation and responsibilities
The Syrian network for human rights and as an organization concerned with the defense of human rights condemns in the strongest terms and the greatest phrases all methods of torture with all forms, which date back to many of them to primitive times the first and eras of the Middle Ages, and stresses that these acts of violent cannot be issued by the person with a humanitarian values, and hold the Syrian Government Troops with all its symbols and forms and all of those who alliance and cooperate with and supported financially or morally the Syrian Government Troops full responsibility for what happened and is happening from physical and material or moral damage , as well as all of the reactions and consequences of arrest and torture.
Not to mention that International community and UN attitude of standing and watching idly violations of international law in Syria is a stain against who legislates this rules cause the lack of implementation to put an end to dictatorships that violate and offend human dignity and encourages dictatorships to move forward in their policies criminal lack of undeterred.
Demands and Recommendations :
1- Demands
According to Rule No. 124 of Customary IHL
Rule 124. ICRC Access to Persons Deprived of Their Liberty
A. In international armed conflicts, the ICRC must be granted regular access to all persons deprived of their liberty in order to verify the conditions of their detention and to restore contacts between those persons and their families.
SNHR as a human rights organization demands our colleagues in ICRC to do their duty entrusted to them as the only body authorized to visit detention centers and cellars expended and quickly visits, and has full liberty to select the places it wishes to visit and must be able to interview the detainees without accompaniments by the Syrian Government Troops .
We call upon the International Committee , Security Council and United Nations to live up to the human and humanity laws and constitutions and referral criminal and murderers to ICC
All city organizations around the world to exert pressure on the Security Council and all its members to refer criminals in Syria to ICC, and to be on the amount of responsibility of torture and kill exposed the Syrian people
2- Recommendations:
Human Rights Council :
1- Pay more and Serious attentions of torturing death cases which considered as the worst type of crimes at all
2- Demand the Security Council and the councerned internaional institutions to hold their responsibilities in this serious matter
3- Pressure on the Syrian Government Troops to stop torturing and unlock the prisons and detention centers to see detainees and know their conditions
4- Hold allias and supporters of the Syrian Government Troops : Russia , Iran and China , the moral and physical responsibilties for the Syrain Syrian Government Troops excesses in this regard
Security Council :
1- Decisison to refer all the criminals and the involved to ICC
2- Warn the Syrian Government Troops of therepercussions of using burtual methods on the stability of civil peace and coexistance between the people of the same society
Arab League :
1- Demand Human Right Council and United Nations to give this serious issue the right attension and follow up
2- Political anddiplomaticpressureonthe Syrian Government Troops ‘s mainallies-Russia, Iran andChina -to prevent them fromcontinious providingcoverandinternationaland political protectionforallthe crimes committed againstthe Syrian people andhold themmoraland physicalresponsibilityforallthe excesses oftheSyrian Government Troops
3- Serious attension of this case and give it high proiority and , and try to take care of torture victims families
Transitional Syrian Government Troops :
1- Media and Political deserved attention of this case, and continuously raised in Syrian Frineds Conferences
2- Demand Human Right Council and United Nations to give this serious issue the right attension and follow up
3- Form speciallized committee s to follow up the condetions of detainess families and care of them financially and morally
4- Form speciallized committees to procvide moral and physchological support to rehabit victims detainess coming out of torture headquarter
5- Condemenation , accounting and follow up torture committed by opposition armed factions
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Syrian Network for Human Rights – London
Website: www.syrianhr.org
Email: press@syrianhr.org
Skype: Syrianhr
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