Syria 'killed and tortured' 11,000 detainees, say lawyers
Evidence of 'systemic killing' by government officials emerges day before start of peace talks
SYRIA was involved in the "systematic killing" and torture of 11,000 detainees and government officials could face war crimes charges, The Guardian reports.
The claims are based on a report which analysed a "huge cache" of digital photographs smuggled out of Syria by a former military photographer, the paper says. The images, which show the bodies of people who died while in the custody of regime's security forces between March 2011 to last August, reveal that many corpses were emaciated, bloodstained and bore signs of torture.
Some of the bodies - mostly of young men - had no eyes; others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution, the paper says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The 55,000 images have been analysed by "three eminent international lawyers" who have compiled a report commissioned by Qatar, a supporter of Syria's rebels. The authors are Sir Desmond de Silva QC, former chief prosecutor of the special court for Sierra Leone, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, the former lead prosecutor of former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic, and Professor David Crane, who indicted President Charles Taylor of Liberia at the Sierra Leone court.
One of the three told the BBC there was evidence of government involvement in the atrocities, a claim vehemently denied by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
The timing of the report's release – a day before the start of talks in Geneva designed to end the civil war in Syria – is significant, the BBC says. Those talks are due to go ahead as scheduled after a last-minute invitation to Iran to participate was withdrawn by UN chief Ban Ki-Moon.
The invitation had prompted Syria's main Opposition group to threaten to boycott the talks and was criticised by the US.
Reuters says the withdrawal of Iran's invitation had averted the collapse of the talks, but not without cost. The invitation had triggered "24 hours of confusion that dismayed diplomats who have spent months cajoling Assad's opponents to negotiate".
The BBC says the 31-page report into the torture and killing of detainees in Syria is "more detailed and on a far larger scale than anything else that has yet emerged from the 34-month crisis".
The three lawyers who compiled the report say they found the military photographer, known only as Caesar, to be credible and truthful and his account "most compelling".
Caesar told the investigators his job was "taking pictures of killed detainees". He did not claim to have witnessed executions or torture. But he did describe a highly bureaucratic system.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Her Lotus Year: Paul French's new biography sets lurid rumours straight
The Week Recommends Wallis Simpson's year in China is less scandalous, but 'more interesting' than previously thought
By The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - November 21, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - wild cards, wild turkeys, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Say Nothing: 'sensational' dramatisation of Patrick Radden Keefe's bestselling book
The Week Recommends The series is a 'powerful reminder' of the Troubles
By The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published