Accountability For Victims Of Human Rights Abuses In Syria

By Mahsa Maleki, Syria Country Specialist

A protester with his fingers painted with the Syrian flag flashes a victory sign during a demonstration in Istanbul on April 29, 2011, against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and to denounce the bloody crackdown on protests. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Since protests demanding reform began on March 15 in Syria, hundreds have been detained or  injured and more than 450 protesters killed by Syrian security forces.

Members of the army and paramilitaries have shot into crowds of protesters and mourners using live ammunition, while snipers have shot and killed people in the streets and their homes and targeted medical workers and those helping the wounded.

Although the Syrian government and the Syrian state news agency have attributed many killings to members of “terrorist” and “fundamentalist” armed groups, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the evidence clearly indicates that security forces of the Syrian government are responsible.

Amnesty International has asked the Syrian authorities for permission to enter the country to investigate alleged human rights violations first hand.

We’ve also received new reports of torture and other ill-treatment against the protesters, including beatings with sticks and cables, electric shocks, and sexual abuse. In Dera’a, the center of the protests, the Syrian army besieged the town and cut off all water and electricity, while shelling  residential buildings.

There must be accountability for these human rights violations.  Amnesty International is calling on the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Syria.  We’re also calling for an asset freeze on President Bashar al-Assad and others involved in committing such serious human rights violations.

Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said:

“The Syrian government and its security forces have long felt able to operate with total impunity, and we are now seeing the result of that in the kinds of bloody acts that they have been committing on the streets of Syria in recent days.

“President al-Assad and those around him have to understand that their actions will have consequences, namely that if they gun down their own citizens the international community will hold them individually criminally responsible before the ICC or national courts of states exercising universal jurisdiction.”

Help stop the bloodshed in Syria by calling on President Bashar al-Assad to immediately stop the killings, deliver justice and accountability.

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8 thoughts on “Accountability For Victims Of Human Rights Abuses In Syria

  1. The President,his Council of Ministers Senior Bureacrats,Army & Police Personals,who took part in Torture.Assaulting,Causing Hardship to its own People must be Punished.The Perpetrators must be brought to Justice,as they have Performed Crimes against Humanity.

  2. The President,his Council of Ministers Senior Bureacrats,Army & Police Personals,who took part in Torture.Assaulting,Causing Hardship to its own People must be Punished.The Perpetrators must be brought to Justice,as they have Performed Crimes against Humanity.

  3. Stop the lies !. I am so disappointed by Amnesty International, which is becoming a toy in the hands of the western media and corrupt governmnts.
    I changed your petition to the following, because it is th truth.

    Dear Dr. Bashar Al-Asad, President of Syrian Arab Republic:

    You have my utmost support for your call to actions for reform in Syria, and to stop the criminal elements, supported by Israel and the west to destroy the beautiful country of Syria. The so called "Human rights" organizations failed to mention the atrocities commited by the armed group in Syria, and that most of the deads are from the army and security forces. They also neglect a real call for refom in the Gulf states, epecially Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
    Today Israel was shooting demonstrators in the occupied Golan heights and in Lebanon and Palestine, while the West, and the so called "Human rights" organizations are silent. I know what is happening on the ground in Syria from my family, and by following real news, not fabricated by the mainstream media in the US and Europe, and the corrupted governments- owned Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia.

    My deep apology on behalf of Amnesty International, which I used to respect, but not any more

    Sincerely, M. Yossef

  4. Stop the lies !. I am so disappointed by Amnesty International, which is becoming a toy in the hands of the western media and corrupt governments.
    I changed your petition to the following, because it is th truth.

    Dear Dr. Bashar Al-Asad, President of Syrian Arab Republic:

    You have my utmost support for your call to actions for reform in Syria, and to stop the criminal elements, supported by Israel and the west to destroy the beautiful country of Syria. The so called "Human rights" organizations failed to mention the atrocities commited by the armed group in Syria, and that most of the deads are from the army and security forces. They also neglect a real call for refom in the Gulf states, epecially Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
    Today Israel was shooting demonstrators in the occupied Golan heights and in Lebanon and Palestine, while the West, and the so called "Human rights" organizations are silent. I know what is happening on the ground in Syria from my family, and by following real news, not fabricated by the mainstream media in the US and Europe, and the corrupted governments- owned Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia.

    My deep apology on behalf of Amnesty International, which I used to respect, but not any more

    Sincerely, M. Yossef

  5. Stop the lies !. I am so disappointed by Amnesty International, which is becoming a toy in the hands of the western media and corrupt governmnts.
    I changed your petition to the following, because it is th truth.

    Dear Dr. Bashar Al-Asad, President of Syrian Arab Republic:

    You have my utmost support for your call to actions for reform in Syria, and to stop the criminal elements, supported by Israel and the west to destroy the beautiful country of Syria. The so called “Human rights” organizations failed to mention the atrocities commited by the armed group in Syria, and that most of the deads are from the army and security forces. They also neglect a real call for refom in the Gulf states, epecially Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
    Today Israel was shooting demonstrators in the occupied Golan heights and in Lebanon and Palestine, while the West, and the so called “Human rights” organizations are silent. I know what is happening on the ground in Syria from my family, and by following real news, not fabricated by the mainstream media in the US and Europe, and the corrupted governments- owned Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia.

    My deep apology on behalf of Amnesty International, which I used to respect, but not any more

    Sincerely, M. Yossef

  6. Stop the lies !. I am so disappointed by Amnesty International, which is becoming a toy in the hands of the western media and corrupt governments.
    I changed your petition to the following, because it is th truth.

    Dear Dr. Bashar Al-Asad, President of Syrian Arab Republic:

    You have my utmost support for your call to actions for reform in Syria, and to stop the criminal elements, supported by Israel and the west to destroy the beautiful country of Syria. The so called “Human rights” organizations failed to mention the atrocities commited by the armed group in Syria, and that most of the deads are from the army and security forces. They also neglect a real call for refom in the Gulf states, epecially Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
    Today Israel was shooting demonstrators in the occupied Golan heights and in Lebanon and Palestine, while the West, and the so called “Human rights” organizations are silent. I know what is happening on the ground in Syria from my family, and by following real news, not fabricated by the mainstream media in the US and Europe, and the corrupted governments- owned Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia.

    My deep apology on behalf of Amnesty International, which I used to respect, but not any more

    Sincerely, M. Yossef

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