{"id":293,"date":"2011-07-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-02T00:00:00","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=293","title":{"rendered":"Syria: Rising Toll in Homs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nFor Immediate Release<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nSyria: Rising Toll in Homs<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n3 New Deaths in Crackdown Brings Total to At Least 21
\nSince June 17<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>(New York, July 2, 2011) – Government security forces and their allies
\nhave killed at least 21 people in Homs since June 17, 2011, as they crack down
\non Syria’s third-largest city, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces
\nand pro-government armed groups, known locally as shabeeha<\/em>, shot and
\nkilled at least three protesters on July 1, witnesses and local human rights
\ngroups told Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>During the city’s ongoing protests, security forces have beaten
\nprotesters with clubs, vandalized private property, and broken into homes where
\nthey suspected protesters had sought refuge. Security forces dressed in
\ncivilian clothes have detained protesters repeatedly, often travelling in taxis
\nto approach and detain people. <\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>“President Bashar al-Asad’s promises of new laws allowing more
\npolitical participation ring hollow when security forces are still above the
\nmost basic laws,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights
\nWatch. <\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>The Syrian government should immediately halt the excessive use of
\nforce by security forces and free everyone detained for exercising their rights
\nto free expression and association, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Human Rights Watch spoke to seven witnesses who witnessed the security
\nforces’ most recent crackdown in Homs, including a doctor at al-Barr hospital
\nwho treated some of the wounded. Syria’s authorities restrict access to Syria
\nto human rights groups, forcing Human Rights Watch to collect information by
\nphone or by speaking to Syrian refugees who cross into neighboring countries. <\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>A witness described the death of Diya’ al-Najjar on July 1, when
\nsecurity forces opened fire on protesters gathered in al-Qarabis neighborhood.
\n“I saw Diya’ al-Najjar shot by a sniper in his head right in front of me,”
\nthe witness said. “The sniper was in a Land Cruiser car four or five meters
\naway from protesters.” <\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Al-Najjar’s body was taken to al-Barr hospital in Homs, where a doctor
\nconfirmed to Human Rights Watch that he died from a bullet to the head.
\nAccording to the doctor, 10 protesters wounded by bullets had arrived at his
\nhospital by 6 p.m. on July 1.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Local activists reported that two other protesters, Waleed al-Sayyed
\nand Nader Sa`id, died in the neighborhood of Bab al-Sba` on the same day.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Security forces and pro-government armed groups also shot and killed
\nprotesters on June 17, 20, 21, and 24, killing at least 18 people, witnesses
\nand local rights groups told Human Rights Watch.\n<\/p>\n

\nSince protests erupted in Syria in mid-March, Human Rights
\nWatch has also documented numerous instances of torture
\nin detention<\/a> throughout the country, which in some cases may have led to
\nthe detainees’ deaths. On June 16, Syria’s security forces returned the body of
\nTarek Ziad Abdul Qader, detained at a protest in Homs on May 6. Video footage
\nposted on YouTube purports to show marks of beatings and torture on his body. <\/p>\n

Anti-government protests in Homs have been ongoing since late March. After
\nsecurity forces violently dispersed an all-night peaceful sit-in in the city
\ncenter at New Clock Tower Square (Sahat al-Sa`a<\/em>) on April 19, killing at
\nleast 17 protesters, demonstrators have mostly gathered in neighborhoods on the
\noutskirts of the city.<\/p>\n

Under the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms,
\nsecurity forces may use lethal force only when strictly necessary to protect life,
\nand force must be exercised with restraint and in proportion to an imminent
\nthreat.<\/p>\n

“Syria’s authorities accuse protesters of being ‘armed gangs,’ but it is their
\nsecurity forces who terrorize people,” Whitson said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nShooting of Protesters
\n<\/strong>On June 17, protesters gathered in many neighborhoods of Homs after the
\nmidday prayer and attempted to march toward New Clock Tower Square. A witness
\ntold Human Rights Watch:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nThere was a big protest starting from al-Nour mosque in
\nal-Khalidiyah neighborhood. Security forces blocked off major roads and set up
\ncheckpoints all over the place, so that protesters from different neighborhoods
\ncouldn’t convene in one place and march together. When the protesters tried to
\npass the blockades, that’s when security forces started shooting at them. Some
\nof the security forces were carrying machine guns.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nLocal activists provided Human Rights Watch with the names
\nof six protesters who died that day: Yousef Muhammad Ghazoul, Khalid Askar,
\nAmmar Ahmed Dabous, and three men from the Za`rour, Sheikh al-Souq, and
\nal-Sba`i families. A seventh, `Oday al-Khaled was fatally wounded that day, and
\ndied on June 24, the doctor who treated him told Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n

On June 20, security forces used teargas, beatings, and then live ammunition to
\ndisperse protesters who had gathered in al-Khalidiyah neighborhood to express
\ndissatisfaction over President al-Asad’s speech earlier that day. One resident
\ntold Human Rights Watch:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nThere were two protests in the neighborhood on that day
\n[June 20]. First a pro-regime rally, then about an hour later an opposition
\nprotest. For the pro-regime demonstration, they [officials] brought in public
\nemployees and army and security men all dressed in civilian clothes. It
\ndispersed fairly quickly.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nThen, when the anti-regime protest started, a white van
\ndrove up with about 14 people in police uniforms inside with Kalashnikovs. At
\nfirst they fired teargas, then they started shooting. I was on the rooftop of a
\nneighboring building. Security forces were arresting anybody they could catch
\non the streets. There were nine people killed in total that day. I didn’t see
\nany of the deaths myself, but I have two friends who took bodies off the
\nstreet, one of whom is a medic.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nHuman Rights Watch was unable to obtain the names of those
\nkilled on June 20.<\/p>\n

A witness from the al-Ghouta neighborhood, where another anti-government
\nprotest also took place on June 20, described how security forces vandalized
\nproperty, even after demonstrators had dispersed:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nCivilian cars closed off the streets to prevent security
\nforces from entering. When security forces showed up, protesters – who numbered
\naround 500 – dispersed. No teargas or anything, everyone just ran away. The
\nsecurity forces were wearing green khaki and civilian clothes. I saw about 100
\npersonally, but there was another bus or two of them waiting outside the
\nneighborhood. The ones in civilian clothes came first. They knocked over
\ngarbage cans and spilled garbage all over the street, yelling, “You clean up
\nyour garbage, you germs,” referencing the president’s speech [in which he
\nreferred to some anti-government opponents as “germs”].\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nOn June 21, pro-government supporters clashed with
\nanti-government protesters, and according to two witnesses, the security forces
\nintervened and shot at the protesters. A witness told Human Rights Watch:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nWe protested again on Tuesday [June 21], since the regime
\nsupporters had scheduled a protest and we wanted to have one, too. The
\nopposition protest started from Souq al-Masqouf and al-Kabir mosque downtown,
\nwhile the pro-regime protest started from Shikri Kuwatli neighborhood. When
\nboth sides reached the city center, they started shouting and cursing, then
\nshoving and throwing punches at one another. That’s when security intervened;
\nthey started shooting, but only at the opposition protesters. I heard that
\nthree died, but I didn’t see them myself.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nAccording to local activists, five protesters died on June
\n21 in Homs: Mohammed Rateb al-Droubi, Shaker Sahlool, Abdul al-Ilah Gharbal,
\nMohammed al-Joudi, and a man from the al-Refa`i family.<\/p>\n

A similar pattern of security force violence occurred on June 24, when
\nthousands of protesters again took to the streets in neighborhoods throughout
\nHoms. As one protester in al-Mal`ab neighborhood, near Homs’ main stadium, told
\nHuman Rights Watch:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nI went to the Friday prayer in Omar al-Khatab Mosque in
\nal-Mal`ab. The security buses were about 200 meters in front of us. After we
\nfinished prayers, we gathered near one of the entrances of the mosque and
\nstarted a demonstration. When we got to five meters from the main street,
\nsecurity forces fired three teargas canisters. One went inside the courtyard of
\nthe mosque. Next security forces started throwing rocks at us, and
\ndemonstrators started throwing rocks back. There was a distance of about 200
\nmeters between us. Security forces then opened fire with their guns.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nAccording to local activists, seven people died in Homs and
\nits suburbs that day: Tamer Zaqarit; Maher Ratib al-`Arabi, age 17; Walid
\nKhalif al-Mu`at; Muhsen Khalid al-Zein; Abdulhamid Idris Idris; Muhsen Khalif,
\nage 16; and Ahmed Khalif, age 58.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nArbitrary Arrests and Death in Detention
\n<\/strong>On June 24, a resident of al-Inshaat, a neighborhood of Homs close to Bab
\n`Amro, witnessed security forces arresting a man on the street:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nI was in my car in front of Abdul Hamed al-Zehrawy High
\nSchool. I was to the side of the area where demonstrators and security forces
\nwere clashing. Security forces were throwing rocks at the demonstrators. They
\nkept doing that for about 10 minutes, then all the demonstrators started
\nrunning away. I stayed where I was, then suddenly a taxi came out into the
\nstreet in front of me.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nTwo men dressed in plain clothes got out of the car and
\ngrabbed a man, I would say about 18 to 20 years old, who was walking in front
\nof the school. He wasn’t doing anything, just walking down the street. Then
\nseven policemen in uniform came on motorcycles and hit the guy hard. They put
\nhim in one of the security buses. I got the license plate number of the “taxi.”
\nIt was a yellow car with the license plate: Homs 747191.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nAround midnight on June 29, security forces entered
\nal-Ghouta neighborhood and arrested a young man. A witness who watched the
\narrest from his balcony told Human Rights Watch:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nI saw five security guys in green uniforms get out of a taxi
\nand arrest a neighbor named Anas Aljen, in his 20’s. He was on the street just
\noutside his building watching a demonstration down the block, wearing only his
\nhouse clothes and flip-flops. He wasn’t involved in the protests at all.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nThe security men drove up in a taxi, which let them out and
\ndrove off. They started hitting Anas with their sticks. Hearing his screams,
\npeople on the balcony told them to leave him alone, then the security men
\nstarted swearing and shouting at them. They stood in the middle of the street
\nand tried to stop cars. A microbus stopped first, and they shoved him inside
\nand drove away, with the driver and other passengers still inside. A neighbor
\ntold me they arrested two other men in al-Ghouta, as well: Sami Derbas and a
\nman from the Abbas family.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nA family friend from Bab al-Sba` attended the funeral of
\nTarek Ziad Abdul Qader, whose body was returned to his family on June 16 after
\nhe apparently died in detention. He told Human Rights Watch:\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\n[Tarek] was shot in the leg and detained, along with his
\nfriend from the Abbara family. Then he died in detention. They were both
\n23-years-old. About a day after he was taken, his parents started to ask about
\nhim in the hospitals, but there was no answer. The National Hospital called his
\nparents on June 16 to tell them to come collect his body.\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen they asked who delivered the body, the hospital workers
\nsaid they didn’t know. They later inferred that he had died after being
\ndetained for about 10 days. They inferred this from the length of his beard – he
\nhad gone to his barber cousin that Friday, May 6, for a shave before going to
\nthe mosque. When his body was delivered his beard had grown in a way that would
\nhave taken about 10 days. One man at the National Hospital told them his body
\nwas held in a refrigerator for a month in a military hospital in Homs, but he
\nsaid he didn’t know where he had been before that.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nFor more Human Rights Watch reporting on Syria,
\nplease visit:<\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nhttp:\/\/www.hrw.org\/en\/middle-eastn-africa\/syria<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

For more information, please contact:
\n<\/strong>In Beirut, Nadim Houry (English, Arabic, French): +961-1-447833; or
\n+961-3-639244 (mobile); or houryn@hrw.org<\/span><\/a>
\nIn Washington, DC, Joe Stork (English): +1-202-612-4327; or
\n+1-202-299-4925 (mobile); or storkj@hrw.org<\/span><\/a>
\nIn Paris, Jean-Marie Fardeau (English, French, Portuguese) : +33-1-43-59-55-35;
\nor +33-6-45-85-24-87 (mobile); or fardeaj@hrw.org<\/span><\/a><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIn Berlin,
\nWenzel Michalski (English, German): +49-151-419-24256 (mobile); or michalw@hrw.org<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

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

3 New Deaths in Crackdown Brings Total to At Least 21
\nSince June 17<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>(New York, July 2, 2011) – Government security forces and their allies
\nhave killed at least 21 people in Homs since June 17, 2011, as they crack down
\non Syria’s third-largest city, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces
\nand pro-government armed groups, known locally as shabeeha<\/em>, shot and
\nkilled at least three protesters on July 1, witnesses and local human rights
\ngroups told Human Rights Watch.
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293","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\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}