{"id":262,"date":"2011-05-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/?p=262","title":{"rendered":"Syria video points to \u2018shoot to kill\u2019 policy of security forces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nPRESS RELEASE<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nIssued under strict embargo 18:00 BST 26 May 2011, <\/strong>Syria video points to ‘shoot to kill’
\npolicy of security forces<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nAmnesty International has obtained video footage that points
\nto a ”shoot to kill” policy being used by the Syrian security forces to quell
\nreform protests.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe footage,
\nsmuggled out of Syria
\nby contacts of Amnesty International, shows protesters shot and beaten by
\nsecurity forces, soldiers conducting a night raid on the ‘Omari mosque in
\nDera’a and a mass funeral in Izraa. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“These extraordinary images were taken by Syrians who have risked their lives to <\/span>document the
\ncallous attempts of the authorities to terrorize the pro-reform movement from
\ngoing out onto the streets,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy
\nDirector for the Middle East and North Africa.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Faced with this and other compelling evidence of rampant
\nabuses, President Bashar al-Assad must stop the Syrian security forces shooting
\nunarmed protesters and ensure that perpetrators are held to account for their
\ntreatment of fellow Syrians.”\n<\/p>\n

\nThe video includes scenes of:\n<\/p>\n

\n–       
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The military raiding the
\n‘Omari mosque, which was being used as a field hospital.\n<\/p>\n

\n–       
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Soldiers and armed men in
\nplain clothes inside the mosque after their operation, filming bodies on the
\nfloor, celebrating and shouting “Take pictures, we killed them, they are
\ntraitors”.\n<\/p>\n

\n–       
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Badly injured, possibly
\ndead, individuals being carried hurriedly away.\n<\/p>\n

\n–       
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>People who appear to have
\nsustained severe head injuries and in some cases to have died as a result.\n<\/p>\n

\n–       
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Two scenes of uniformed
\nmembers of the security forces bludgeoning injured men lying on the road.\n<\/p>\n

\n–       
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Testimony from an ambulance
\nworker who tells of how the army would not let anyone tend to the wounded.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe footage was shot in late March and April in and around
\nthe city of Dera’a. It shows the kind of tactics being used by the authorities
\nin their crackdown against protesters, which currently continues in the cities
\nof Banias, Homs
\nand elsewhere.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe video also shows large groups of children joining the
\nprotests and the funerals of some six people, including a boy and an old man.
\nThe security forces have dispersed such funerals with lethal force on a number
\nof occasions.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Images of unarmed civilians shot in the head help explain
\nwhy there have been so many fatalities. Together with footage of soldiers
\ncelebrating deaths, they document what appears to be a ‘shoot to kill’ policy,”
\nsaid Philip Luther.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Other clips showing the bludgeoning of men lying on the
\nground – one of whom seems to have been already shot and critically injured –
\nhighlight the wanton cruelty of the regime’s security apparatus.”\n<\/p>\n

\nAmnesty International has the names of more then 720 people
\nbelieved to have been killed by the Syrian security forces during the past two
\nmonths of unrest sparked by protests throughout the region.\n<\/p>\n

\n“These videos add to the damning collection of reasons why
\nthe UN Security Council must take decisive action and refer Syria to the
\nInternational Criminal Court over its brutal crackdown against pro-reform
\nprotesters,” said Philip Luther.\n<\/p>\n

\nPublic Document\n<\/p>\n

\nFor more information please call Amnesty International’s
\npress office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nInternational Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton
\nSt., London WC1X 0DW,
\nUK\n<\/p>\n

\nwww.amnesty.org<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nIssued under strict embargo 18:00 BST 26 May 2011<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nAmnesty International has obtained video footage that points
\nto a ”shoot to kill” policy being used by the Syrian security forces to quell
\nreform protests.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe footage,
\nsmuggled out of Syria
\nby contacts of Amnesty International, shows protesters shot and beaten by
\nsecurity forces, soldiers conducting a night raid on the ‘Omari mosque in
\nDera’a and a mass funeral in Izraa. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}