Syrian torture-doctor arrested in Germany

A syrian individual who worked as a doctor in a prison in Homs was arrested for suspected torture on prisoners, writes german newspaper "Bild":

"This doctor is said to have tortured an inmate at least twice: the federal prosecutor's office accuses Alaa M. of crimes against humanity (Section 7 (1) No. 5 of the VStGB, Section 25 (2) of the Criminal Code) and dangerous bodily harm. On June 19, 2020, the BKA arrested the torture doctor in Hesse.

On June 20, 2020, the Syrian was brought before the investigative judge of the Federal Court of Justice, and the man has been in custody since then.

Alaa M. worked as a doctor in the Military Intelligence prison in Homs, Syria, in 2011. From October 23, 2011, the later torture victim A. was arrested for participating in a demo. Following a "torture session", he suffered an epileptic attack. When Alaa M. was called in, he is said not to have helped the victim, but to have beaten him up with a plastic tube.

The next day, Alaa M. is said to have knocked the tortured victim out again, this time accompanied by a colleague - the victim later died. The accused entered Germany in mid-2015 and worked here as a doctor."

In an updated version of the article, the accusations against Alaa M. are more precise: 

"But the summoned doctor Alaa M. did not care for A., according to the GBA - but hit him with a plastic tube and kicked him after A. went down. The victim's condition worsened the next day, A was unable to walk. Fellow inmates asked for medical help again, but Alaa M. and another prison doctor hit A until he passed out, was finally put in a blanket and carried away by guards, and then died. After his brother was released and paid a high bribe to the regime henchmen, he was handed over the body. This showed further traces of torture, including holes that had been drilled in his skull. 

Several witnesses on the Qatari television channel “al-Jazeera” reported that they recognized the torture doctor Alaa M. in Germany. Alaa M. is said to have poured alcohol over the penis of another prisoner and then set it on fire, saying that the prisoner had suffered severe burns.

In 2015 Alaa M. left Syria and traveled to Germany - where he worked as a doctor again. He is said to have practiced as an orthopedist in Bad Wildungen for years. Now Alaa M. has to answer for crimes against humanity and dangerous bodily harm." 

 

Study: extensive torture against children in syrian detention

A shocking report by "Lawyers & doctors for human rights" about torture and sexual violence against children in Syria:

Even children are not safe from the systematic torture and sexual violence which is inflicted on detainees in Syria. By examining LDHR medical expert reports, we found evidence that Grave Violations were being committed against children in detention including killing and torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and potentially enforced disappearance (...) These children have been used as weapons of war to pressure and retaliate against the
people whose opinions and beliefs oppose the government’s policies and practices.

Among the abuses documented in Syrian government detention:
- a teenage girl who miscarried through fear and kept remnants in a plastic bag in her cell, another subjected to mock execution.
- A teenage boy raped and filmed by two guards, and then forced to watch the video.
- A 10 year old separated from her mother & held in solitary. Guards told her they had killed her mother (her father had died years back). Child was left crying and screaming her mother's name, thinking that she had no one left.

You can read the report via the below link:

http://ldhrights.org/en/?p=6421

Case 26: flogging of a woman

Three men, one in fatigues and two in civilian clothing with trackpants and trainers, flog a bound person that lies on the floor with cables. The room is empty and a toolbox stands on a table. The video description claims the person to be a woman. Sources claim the location is in Hama. 

 

Case 24: Beaten up by militia

A handcuffed man is beaten and mistreated by 4 militia or intelligence personnel. One of the perpetrators is wearing a purple poloshirt with the inscription "Qualified" or "Qualifeo" on the back. Another wears a blue Adidas baseball-hat.

 

Case 23: "face slaps"

A big corpulent soldier humiliates two apparently civilian middle-aged men by forcing them to face-slap each other.

 

The fate of many forcibly disappeared is still unsolved

An interesting insight provided by PRI (Public Radio International) about the relatives of disappeared in Syria on their efforts to obtain information on the whereabouts of their loved ones.

It isn't clear how many Syrians have been detained and are missing. The Syrian government doesn’t release figures and it doesn't allow human rights groups to visit detention centers.

Last week, Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs at the United Nations, briefed the Security Council on the issue of detainees, abductees and missing persons in Syria.

She said more than 100,000 people have so far been detained, abducted or gone missing — largely, but not only, at the hands of the Syrian government.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-08-16/we-have-suffered-enough-say-families-missing-and-detained-syria