Deadly detention - Deaths in custody amid popular protest in Syria

Amnesty International, août 2011, 34 pages

Relentless repression has marked Syria since March 2011, as the government continues its efforts to stifle increasing numbers of pro-reform protests. Scores of people – believed to have been detained for their actual or suspected involvement in the protests – are reported to have died in custody. Some were children. Howevever, the Syrian authorities have failed to carry out credible investigations into any of the cases or ensure accountability for the perpetrators.

In more than half of the cases, people filmed the bodies to record and show the world their injuries. Many of them appear to have been tortured. Forensic experts contacted by Amnesty International analyzed the footage to help determine possible causes of death.

Amnesty International concludes that the torture reported here has been committed as part of a widespread, as well as systematic, attack on the civilian population – crimes against humanity. It is calling on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria immediately to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.