{"id":273,"date":"2011-06-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T00:00:00","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=273","title":{"rendered":"Fears for Syrian child protesters amid fresh reports of deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nFears for Syrian child protesters amid fresh reports of
\ndeaths <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n10 June 2011\n<\/p>\n

\nAmnesty International urged the Syrian authorities to
\nprotect child protesters amid fresh reports of young people being tortured and
\nkilled.\n<\/p>\n

\nVideo evidence has emerged in recent days of two new cases
\nof teenagers – Thamer al-Sahri and Nazir ‘Abd al-Kader – dying after receiving
\ninjuries caused by beatings and gunshot wounds.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Reports that the Syrian security forces have tortured and
\nkilled children in their custody would, if confirmed, mark a new low in their
\nbloody repression of protests,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty
\nInternational’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.\n<\/p>\n

\n“The violent deaths suffered by Thamer al-Sahri and other
\nchildren are utterly shocking, as is the Syrian authorities’ apparent lack of
\naction to rein in the security forces accused of being responsible for
\nthem.”  <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nInternational media released an amateur video on Thursday
\npurportedly showing the body of 15-year-old Thamer al-Sahri, which was returned
\nto his family in the Syrian village of Jeeza the day before.\n<\/p>\n

\nHe disappeared on 29 April following attempts by villagers
\nto reach the besieged southern city of Dera’a. Some 500 people were reportedly
\narrested in the area that day.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe video apparently shows his body punctured by bullet
\nwounds and missing one eye and several teeth. His neck and one leg were also
\nreportedly broken.\n<\/p>\n

\nThamer al-Sahri is the fourth child reported to have died in
\ncustody since March. Syrian human rights activists have reported the deaths
\nunder torture of Diyaa Yahya Khatib, 16, from Homs and Saleh Ahmed al-Khateb,
\n14, from Dera’a during their detention in March and April, respectively.  <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nProtesters in Syria were galvanized by news of the death
\nlate last month of 13-year0-old Hamza al-Khateeb. He went missing amid mass
\narrests near Dera’a on 29 April, and was later reported as being held by Air
\nForce Security.  <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSyrian authorities denied that Hamza al-Khateeb had been
\ntortured or that his body had been mutilated, saying that he died after being
\nshot by an armed group and that the body had decomposed during the period
\nbefore it was returned to his family.\n<\/p>\n

\nA forensic specialist consulted by Amnesty International
\nanalysed a video of his body and concluded that the injuries visible indicated
\nthat the boy had suffered repeated violence with a blunt instrument while still
\nalive. He also identified evidence of two gunshot wounds, one to the chest,
\napparently fired at close range, and one to the arm, with lesions suggesting
\nthe boy was alive at this point, too.\n<\/p>\n

\nYesterday Amnesty International received a video clip
\nshowing the body of yet another individual – said to be Nazir ‘Abd al-Kader,
\nprobably aged 18 or 19, given reports that he finished his schooling in 2010 –
\nshowing evidence of brutal treatment.\n<\/p>\n

\nAccording to a doctor who examined the body, Nazir’s
\nkneecaps had been smashed, his skull damaged and his neck broken before he was
\nshot. He is believed to have been in the custody of security forces at the time
\nof his death.\n<\/p>\n

\nSome 32 children, aged between 12 and 17, remain in
\ndetention in apparent connection with protests and could be at risk of torture
\nor other ill-treatment. Of these, at least nine are from the southern city of
\nDera’a.\n<\/p>\n

\nDemonstrations demanding reform began in February, and from
\nmid-March the Syrian security forces have waged a campaign of violence against
\nthe protesters. Amnesty International believes that at least 1,104 people have
\nbeen killed, including 82 children.\n<\/p>\n

\nThousands have been arrested, with many being held
\nincommunicado and reportedly tortured. Amnesty International has documented
\nwidespread allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in Syria’s detention
\ncentres for decades.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe United Nations Security Council is discussing a draft
\nresolution on the violence in Syria.\n<\/p>\n

\n“The UN Security Council must act decisively in response to
\nthe months of bloodshed in Syria and we believe this should include referring
\nthe situation to the International Criminal Court,” said Philip Luther.  <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“In the absence of serious steps by the Syrian authorities
\nto investigate the current violations, it is time for the international
\ncommunity to ensure that officials responsible for the murder of protesters or
\nthe torture of detainees, including children, are brought to justice.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\nFears for Syrian child protesters amid fresh reports of
\ndeaths <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nAmnesty International urged the Syrian authorities to
\nprotect child protesters amid fresh reports of young people being tortured and
\nkilled. Video evidence has emerged in recent days of two new cases
\nof teenagers – Thamer al-Sahri and Nazir ‘Abd al-Kader – dying after receiving
\ninjuries caused by beatings and gunshot wounds.<\/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-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273","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=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}