Syrian defector's photographs may prove torture by the Assad regime
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A Syrian military police photographer has supplied “clear evidence” showing the systematic torture and killing of about 11,000 detainees in circumstances that evoked Nazi death camps.
Over 55,000 postmortem images provided by the photographer, who fled Syria after passing the pictures to Assad’s opponents, show emaciated and mutilated corpses.
Bearing signs of torture, some of the corpses had no eyes. Others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by Iran and Russia, could face a charge of crimes against humanity as a result of this evidence.
“There is clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of detained persons by the Syrian government,” three prosecutors said in the report.
A video purportedly showing pro-Assad security personnel beating a detainee in the Kafr Nabl, in north-west Syria was uploaded to an account that features hundreds of revolution-related videos. They are mainly from the Idlib region and specifically from the Jebel Zawiya district, where Kafr Nabl is situated.
There are several versions of the video online. The version used in this euronews report is the earliest. The video was uploaded on July 3 to a YouTube account registered to the US.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published video detailing ‘torture centres’ run by the Syrian regime.
That video, featuring testimony from victims and army defectors with commentary from HRW researcher Ole Solvang, is available here.
Over 55,000 postmortem images provided by the photographer, who fled Syria after passing the pictures to Assad’s opponents, show emaciated and mutilated corpses.
Bearing signs of torture, some of the corpses had no eyes. Others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by Iran and Russia, could face a charge of crimes against humanity as a result of this evidence.
“There is clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of detained persons by the Syrian government,” three prosecutors said in the report.
A video purportedly showing pro-Assad security personnel beating a detainee in the Kafr Nabl, in north-west Syria was uploaded to an account that features hundreds of revolution-related videos. They are mainly from the Idlib region and specifically from the Jebel Zawiya district, where Kafr Nabl is situated.
There are several versions of the video online. The version used in this euronews report is the earliest. The video was uploaded on July 3 to a YouTube account registered to the US.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published video detailing ‘torture centres’ run by the Syrian regime.
That video, featuring testimony from victims and army defectors with commentary from HRW researcher Ole Solvang, is available here.