Torture ‘rampant’ in Syria
Syrian government forces have carried out crimes against humanity as they try to crush opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in the restive province of Homs, Human Rights Watch says.
Thousands of people in Homs, as in the rest of the country, have been subjected to arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearances and systematic torture in detention, the group said. Most were released after several weeks in detention, but several hundred were still missing.
As far back as June, Channel 4 News heard from a refugee fleeing the regime, who said Syrian government soldiers were raping and torturing young girls. Film-maker Sean McAllister, who was arrested by Syrian forces, has described seeing prisoners who had been beaten and electrocuted.
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The United Nations says 3,500 people have been killed in Assad’s crackdown on protests which erupted in mid-March, inspired by popular Arab uprisings which have toppled three North African leaders. Authorities blame armed groups for the violence, saying they have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.
Torture rife
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had documented 17 deaths in custody in Homs, at least 12 of which were clearly from torture.
“Torture of detainees is rampant,” it said, adding it had spoken to 25 former detainees in Homs, all of whom reported being subjected to various forms of torture.
Violence by protesters or defectors deserves further investigation. Human Rights Watch
The report quoted one man, held at the Military Intelligence base in Homs, as saying he was beaten with cables and hanged by the hands from a pipe so that his feet did not touch the ground.
“I was hanging there for about six hours, although it was hard to tell the time. They were beating me, and pouring water on me, and then using electric stun guns,” he said.
Defections
HRW said army defections had increased since June and that some residents in Homs had formed “defence committees” armed with guns and even rocket-propelled grenades.
Syria’s state media and activists have reported several assassinations in the city over recent weeks of people seen as sympathetic to Assad.
“Violence by protesters or defectors deserves further investigation,” Human Rights Watch said.
“However, these incidents by no means justify the disproportionate and systematic use of lethal force against protesters.”
