{"id":267,"date":"2011-06-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-01T00:00:00","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=267","title":{"rendered":"We’ve Never Seen Such Horror, Crimes against Humanity by Syrian Security Forces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nWe’ve Never Seen Such Horror, Crimes against Humanity by
\nSyrian Security Forces<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nPlease Click Here to Read and Download File<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n(New York) – Systematic killings and torture by Syrian
\nsecurity forces in the city of Daraa since protests began there on March 18,
\n2011, strongly suggest that these qualify as crimes against humanity, Human Rights
\nWatch said in a report released today.\n<\/p>\n

\nThis 54-page report is based on more than 50 interviews with
\nvictims and witnesses to abuses. The report focuses on violations in Daraa
\ngovernorate in Syria, where some of the worst violence took place after
\nprotests seeking greater freedoms began in various parts of the country. The
\nspecifics went largely unreported due to the information blockade imposed by
\nthe Syrian authorities. Victims and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch
\ndescribed systematic killings, beatings, torture using electroshock devices,
\nand detention of people seeking medical care.\n<\/p>\n

\nRead the Report<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nhttp:\/\/www.hrw.org\/node\/99366<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nISBN: 1-56432-778-7\n<\/p>\n

\nRead the Press Release<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n

\nhttp:\/\/www.hrw.org\/node\/99366<\/a><\/u>\n<\/p>\n

\nSyria: Crimes
\nAgainst Humanity in Daraa<\/a> <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nKillings, Torture in a Locked-Down City Under Siege 
\n– Short Press Release<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nhttp:\/\/www.hrw.org\/en\/news\/2011\/06\/01\/syria-crimes-against-humanity-daraa<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nJune 1, 2011\n<\/p>\n

\nBodies of people killed by Syrian security forces during
\nprotests in Daraa city, stored in a mobile refrigerator, May 4, 2011.\n<\/p>\n

\n© 2011 Private\n<\/p>\n

\nRelated Materials: \n<\/p>\n

\n“We’ve Never Seen Such Horror”<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nSyria: Targeted Arrests of Activists Across Country<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nSyria: Lift the Siege of Daraa<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nMore Coverage: \n<\/p>\n

\nBBC
\nNews: Syrian unrest: Inquiry into Hamza al-Khatib’s death<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nMore Human Rights Watch reporting on Syria<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nRelated videos: \n<\/p>\n

\n·       Syria: Dispatches from
\nDaraa\n<\/p>\n

\nFor more than two months now, Syrian security forces have
\nbeen killing and torturing their own people with complete impunity. They need
\nto stop – and if they don’t, it is the Security Council’s responsibility to
\nmake sure that the people responsible face justice.\n<\/p>\n

\nSarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights
\nWatch\n<\/p>\n

\n(New York) – Systematic killings and torture by Syrian
\nsecurity forces in the city of Daraa since protests began there on March 18,
\n2011, strongly suggest that these qualify as crimes against humanity, Human Rights
\nWatch said in a report released today.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe 54-page report, "‘We’ve Never Seen Such
\nHorror’: Crimes against Humanity in Daraa<\/a>," is based on more than 50
\ninterviews with victims and witnesses to abuses. The report focuses on
\nviolations in Daraa governorate, where some of the worst violence took place
\nafter protests seeking greater freedoms began in various parts of the country.
\nThe specifics went largely unreported due to the information blockade imposed
\nby the Syrian authorities. Victims and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights
\nWatch described systematic killings, beatings, torture using electroshock
\ndevices, and detention of people seeking medical care.\n<\/p>\n

\n"For more than two months now, Syrian security forces
\nhave been killing and torturing their own people with complete impunity,"
\nsaid Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "They
\nneed to stop – and if they don’t, it is the Security Council’s responsibility
\nto make sure that the people responsible face justice."\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Syrian government should take immediate steps to halt
\nthe excessive use of lethal force by security forces, Human Rights Watch said.
\nThe United Nations Security Council should impose sanctions and press Syria for
\naccountability and, if it doesn’t respond adequately, refer Syria to the
\nInternational Criminal Court.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe protests first broke out in Daraa in response to the
\ndetention and torture of 15 children accused of painting graffiti slogans
\ncalling for the government’s downfall. In response and since then, security
\nforces have repeatedly and systematically opened fire on overwhelmingly
\npeaceful demonstrators. The security forces have killed at least 418 people in
\nthe Daraa governorate alone, and more than 887 across Syria, according to local
\nactivists who have been maintaining a list of those killed. Exact numbers are
\nimpossible to verify.\n<\/p>\n

\nWitnesses from Daraa interviewed by Human Rights Watch
\nprovided consistent accounts of security forces using lethal force against
\nprotesters and bystanders, in most cases without advance warning or any effort
\nto disperse the protesters by nonviolent means. Members of various branches of
\nthe mukhabarat<\/em> (security services) and numerous snipers positioned on
\nrooftops deliberately targeted the protesters, and many of the victims had
\nlethal head, neck, and chest wounds. Human Rights Watch documented a number of
\ncases in which security forces participating in the operations against
\nprotesters in Daraa and other cities had received "shoot-to-kill"
\norders from their commanders.\n<\/p>\n

\nSome of the deadliest incidents Human Rights Watch
\ndocumented include:\n<\/p>\n