BELGIUM: Amnesty International calls on United Nations to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity

Record ID: 279437

  • Title: BELGIUM: Amnesty International calls on United Nations to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity
  • Date: 7th July 2011
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JULY 06, 2011) (REUTERS) JOURNALIST TALKING WITH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS PETER CLARKE SIGN READING "CRACKDOWN IN SYRIA: TERROR IN TELL KALAKH" (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS, PETER CLARKE SAYING: "Amnesty International has just compiled a report on a
  • Embargoed: 22nd July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium, Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Conflict,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA7ZSYZ56M36XDZ366H618G6CCJ
  • Story Text: Syrian forces may have committed crimes against humanity when they crushed protests in the town of Tel Kelakh in May, Amnesty International said on Wednesday (July 6).
    Urging the United Nations to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, the human rights group said nine people died in custody after being captured during the operation in the town, close to the Lebanese border.
    "Amnesty International has just compiled a report on a very brutal suppression of civilians in the western Syrian town of Tel Kalakh. And we've seen arbitrary detentions, we've seen deaths in custody and we've seen torture. And we're calling on the Security Council of the United Nations to bring this situation before the International Criminal Court because there are clear indications that there may have been crimes against humanity on a large scale," Amnesty International Executive Director of Media and Communications Peter Clarke said.
    In what it described as a "devastating security operation", scores of men were arbitrarily arrested and tortured, including people already wounded, in response to largely peaceful demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad, it said.
    The military operation in Tel Kelakh, completed in a few days in mid-May, sent thousands of people fleeing for shelter into Lebanon, Amnesty said in a report compiled from witness testimony gathered in Lebanon and from phone calls into Syria.
    "We've seen all sorts of atrocities committed. On the first day a young man was shot apparently by snipers. We've seen people fleeing the town who were shot on by military forces. And they've had electric shots applied to their genitals and elsewhere on their bodies. They've been beaten and they've been detained. One example of the brutality, the kind of casual brutality was soldiers arresting people and stubbing out lit cigarettes on their necks to mark them as having been arrested," Clarke said.
    Tel Kelakh was one of several towns and cities across the country where Assad sent troops and security forces to crush protests against his rule which have now lasted 14 weeks.
    Syrian activists say security forces have killed more than 1,300 civilians during the unrest. Authorities say 500 soldiers and police have been killed by armed gangs who they also blame for most of the civilian deaths.
    Most independent media have been barred from Syria, making it hard to verify accounts from activists and authorities.
    Amnesty said the protests which triggered the crackdown in Tel Kelakh were peaceful apart from one incident on April 27 when the arrest of a local cleric sparked violent clashes in which two members of the security forces were killed.
    When operations against Tel Kelakh began on May 14, at least one person was killed on the first day, Amnesty said. "Even the ambulance carrying his body came under fire. As many tried to leave, Syrian forces fired on fleeing families," it said.
    Scores of men were rounded up, and most of them were tortured. Some detainees told Amnesty that they were beaten and held in the 'shabah' (ghost) position, tied by the wrists to a bar high enough off the ground to force them to stand on the tip of their toes for long periods.
    "We've looked at 50 people who witnessed the events in Tel Kalakh in western Syria. They have very credible evidence. We've seen an example of a photograph that a pathologist has examined and it looks as though the victim was tortured while still alive and has cuts to his body. There are plenty of examples of this coming out. We're looking at the international community to take responsibility for this, not to treat Syria as an exception and to put diplomatic pressure on Syria. It needs to understand that this is totally intolerable and the world community cannot hide behind excuses and it must actually get involved," Clarke said.
    Eight of the men Amnesty recorded as dying in detention were shot and wounded as they were ordered out of a house, and were then taken away by soldiers. When relatives were told to identify their bodies they had marks suggesting torture.
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