William Hague gave warning on Tuesday that there would be "no hiding place" for Assad-regime intelligence chiefs identified as the overseers of a brutal "torture archipelago" in Syria.
William Hague said he would work with European Union partners to impose sanctions on the commanders identified Photo: Reuters
By Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent
6:01PM BST 03 Jul 2012
The Foreign Secretary pledged that the commanders of 27 detention facilities would be brought to justice after they were named for the first time in a report providing the most detailed account yet of the systematic use of torture in Syria.
Tens of thousands of government opponents held in the secret prisons have been subjected to beatings, burnt with acid and sexually assaulted, according to Human Rights Watch, the New York-based watchdog.
Although human rights abuses, including the torturing to death of children, have been made frequently in the past, the report is the first to name those allegedly responsible, laying the ground for possible prosecutions before international courts, the group said.
The 81-page report, based on 200 interviews of former inmates, provided satellite images identifying the location of the detention facilities operated by President Bashar al-Assad's intelligence services for the first time.
"The intelligence agencies are running an archipelago of torture centres scattered across the country," said Ole Solvang, the group's emergencies researcher.
Related Articles
_ Syria's Assad regrets shooting down Turkish jet - 03 Jul 2012
_ 'Government torture widespread across Syria' - 03 Jul 2012
_ General and dozens of troops defect from Syria to Turkey - 03 Jul 2012
_ Syrian opposition rejects international peace initiative - 02 Jul 2012
_ Turkish ambassador: UN must unite against Assad - 01 Jul 2012
"By publishing their locations, describing the torture methods, and identifying those in charge we are putting those responsible on notice that they will have to answer for these horrific crimes."
Hundreds of people have been tortured to death in facilities operated by Syria's feared intelligence agencies, known as the Mukhabarat, according to the opposition. Rebels have attacked Mukhabarat buildings across Syria in revenge.
One 31-year-old man interviewed for the report provided a glimpse of the ordeal regime opponents face by describing three days of repeated torture at one facility near the city of Idlib.
"They started squeezing my fingers with pliers," he said. "They put staples in my fingers, chest and ears. I was only allowed to take them out if I spoke.
"They used two wires hooked up to a car battery to give me electric shocks. They used electric stun-guns on my genitals twice. I thought I would never see my family again."
Mr Hague said he would work with European Union partners to impose sanctions on the commanders identified.
"This Human Rights Watch report should act as a clear warning," he said. "There should be no impunity or hiding place for those committing these crimes.
"Those responsible for systematic and widespread human rights violations should not delude themselves: we are our international partners will do everything we can to ensure that they will face justice."
The report's findings are likely to increase pressure on Russia to justify its support for the Assad regime. Even so, it seemed unlikely that Moscow would back Human Rights Watch it in its call for the United Nations Security Council to refer the report to the International Criminal Court.
Shortly after the report's release Mr Assad showed contrition for the first time since the uprising began in March last year – although it was directed towards Turkey rather than his own people.
Although he offered no apology, he spoke of his regret for the shooting down of a Turkish fighter-jet by his forces last month, claiming that the incident only happened after the aircraft was mistaken for an Israeli plane.
"The plane was using the same corridor used by Israeli planes three times in the past," he told Cumhuriyet, a Turkish newspaper.
"Soldiers shot it down because we did not see it on our radars and we were not informed about it. I say 100 per cent, I wish we did not shoot it down."
The president's comments were unlikely to appease Turkey, which scrambled F-16 fighters for the third time in four days after Syrian helicopters flew near the border.
Mr Assad also welcomed an international plan drawn up in Geneva on Saturday that called for the formation of a government of national unity, while leaving open whether the Syrian president could lead it. He said he was pleased that the initiative had left the decision about Syria's future to its people.
Syria's opposition has rejected the initiative and fighting continued to rage across the country on Tuesday.
Government forces shelled rebel-held districts of Homs and escalated an offensive in the nearby towns of Talbiseh and Rastan.
There were also clashes in the suburbs of Damascus, where UN observers – making a rare foray outside their hotels after freezing their mission last month – were thwarted in an attempt to visit hospitals in Douma. The district has been heavily damaged in a heavy artillery assault in recent days and came under attack by helicopter gunships on Monday.
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
04072012
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment