Damascus, June 26 (SANA) Yearly on June 26, the world pauses to mark the Worldwide Day in Assist of Victims of Torture. Nevertheless, in Syria, this date just isn’t merely a UN observance; it’s an open wound that evokes the atrocities dedicated by the ousted Assad regime all through the years of the revolution.
On this anniversary, Syrians recall the struggling of a whole lot of hundreds of detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals who endured varied types of brutality and humiliation within the dungeons of the safety equipment.
Following the autumn of the ousted regime in 2024, today has turn into a milestone for demanding the revelation of the victims’ destiny and the accountability of their torturers, affirming that torture is an unforgivable crime and that justice just isn’t a political possibility however an absolute necessity for constructing the Syria of the long run.
Catastrophic Figures and Paperwork Reveal Scale of Tragedy
For the reason that outbreak of the favored motion in 2011, the difficulty of arbitrary detention and torture has turn into probably the most painful recordsdata in trendy historical past.
Official paperwork and secret information that emerged following the autumn of the regime have revealed surprising figures included in a report by the Syrian Community for Human Rights (SNHR) issued final 12 months, which documented the deaths of 45,032 folks underneath torture, together with 216 youngsters and 95 girls.
Regardless of the numerous progress made in 2025 in documenting deaths and revealing the destiny of many forcibly disappeared people, due to the invention of official proof, greater than 181,000 folks stay among the many detained or forcibly disappeared, amid ongoing struggling for his or her households.
Infrastructure was not spared from the regime’s brutality both; the Community documented 566 assaults on medical services, 1,287 assaults on colleges and kindergartens, and 1,042 assaults on locations of worship.
The Methodology of Repression and the Geography of Ache
The report held the ousted regime accountable for greater than 99% of deaths underneath torture, emphasizing that the violations weren’t mere particular person transgressions, however a scientific coverage that included sexual violence, psychological humiliation, hunger, denial of medical care, and electrical shocks.
The governorates of Daraa, Damascus countryside, Hama, and Homs topped the listing of essentially the most affected areas, recording unprecedented charges of arrest and torture towards their residents.
Worldwide commissions of inquiry and varied different our bodies have categorised these practices as struggle crimes and crimes towards humanity because of their widespread and systematic fee.
Steps Towards Accountability and Combating Impunity
On the judicial entrance, European nations have witnessed important trials based mostly on the precept of “common jurisdiction” towards suspects accused of committing torture crimes in Syria, a transfer rights advocates see as a gateway to breaking the barrier of impunity.
On this context, the Syrian Community for Human Rights has known as for the safety of the uncovered proof, the launch of impartial and clear investigations, and the implementation of complete packages for redress and the availability of psychosocial help for victims and their households.
Justice: A Cornerstone for the New Syria
The Worldwide Day in Assist of Victims of Torture, proclaimed by the UN Common Meeting in 1997 to coincide with the entry into drive of the Conference In opposition to Torture in 1987, affirms that defending human dignity is a authorized and ethical obligation.
Worldwide charters, akin to Article 5 of the Common Declaration of Human Rights, emphasize absolutely the prohibition of torture and degrading remedy.
For Syrians, revealing the destiny of the lacking and punishing these accountable for these crimes stays the elemental cornerstone to making sure that the tragedies of the previous aren’t repeated, and to transitioning towards a brand new Syria the place human rights are revered.
Iman Alzuheiri/MZ
