Lest we forget Syria’s political detainees

HRW campaign: "Lost in Syria's black hole for doing their jobs"

“As the crisis in Syria enters its 16th month, and the international community continues to turn a blind eye to the daily atrocities and human rights violations, the number of activists rounded up by government forces is swelling by the day.

“The latest online campaign is to #FreeBassel – i.e. Bassel Khartabil, who was detained last March.”

This is what I wrote in July 2012 in a post titled "Syria: Free Bassel."

We are now 31 months into the Syria war and thousands of activists are detained, tortured, killed and have not been heard of since their disappearance.

Human Rights Watch last week launched a campaign to cast light on the fate of tens of thousands of political detainees the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad is unlawfully holding.

The campaign, dubbed Inside the Black Hole, tells the individual stories of 21 Syrians --among them Bassel Khartabil -- who have been detained by the Syrian government since 2011.

In addition to releasing all wrongfully detained people, Human Rights Watch calls on the Syrian government to grant immediate and unhindered access for recognized international detention monitors to all official and unofficial detention facilities. It said monitors should include people from the office of Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint special representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, and from the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

“Concerned governments should press Syrian authorities to release political prisoners and to allow monitors access to detention facilities. The governments should use diplomatic channels and targeted sanctions against those credibly implicated in serious human rights abuses,” Human Rights Watch said.

“Concerned governments should also support a UN Security Council referral of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute those bearing the greatest responsibility for abuses in Syria.”

Human Rights Watch writes:

All have been detained solely for exercising their rights to free expression and peaceful assembly or for providing medical care to people injured at protests and shelter to people displaced by the conflict. The government should drop charges against political detainees who are before the military field courts and the Counterterrorism Court set up in July 2012.

“Behind the awful brutality of the fighting in Syria is the unseen abuse of political detainees – arrested, tortured, and even killed for peacefully criticizing the government or helping people in need,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East and North Africa director. “Arbitrary detention and torture have become business as usual for Syrian security forces.”

The systematic use of torture by the government is strong evidence of state policy which would constitute crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said. Concerned governments need to make clear that the Syrian government and those responsible for the abuse will ultimately face justice for their actions.

Government forces have arbitrarily arrested and tortured hospital staff who received wounded protesters, local businessmen who raised money to buy blankets for displaced people, and software developers who advocated free speech on the Internet. Most of the detainees have been men, but women and children have not been spared.

The authorities jail political detainees for months without charge, and torture, mistreat, and prevent them from communicating with their lawyers or families, leaving their families desperate to know what has happened to them.  

In one case, agents believed to be from Air Force Intelligence arrested Yehia Shorbaji, 34, a construction worker, known in his hometown of Daraya as “the man with the roses” because he gave flowers to security forces during the early days of the uprising. Government officials have refused to give Shorbaji’s family any information about him or his brother Mohamed since they and three other activists in a group called Daraya Youth were arrested in September 2011. One of the five, Ghiyath Mattar, died in custody within days of his arrest.

In July 2012, Syria adopted an overly broad Counterterrorism Law that criminalizes almost all peaceful opposition activity. The government has used the new Counterterrorism Court and the longstanding military field courts to target activists and punish peaceful dissent. Both of these systems deny defendants basic fair trial rights. The charges in these courts are brought under the guise of security or countering armed opposition, but the allegations actually involve distributing humanitarian aid, participating in peaceful protests, and documenting human rights abuses. 

Free Bassel banner by Naeema Zarif 

On October 2, a trial of Mazen Darwish and four colleagues from the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression resumed before the Counterterrorism Court on charges of “publicizing terrorist acts.” The indictment against them, which Human Rights Watch reviewed, states that the charges are based on activities such as monitoring online news and publishing the names of the dead and disappeared. During the proceeding on October 2, the judge presiding over the case postponed the trial for the fourth consecutive time citing the security forces’ delay in responding to the court’s request for information.

Darwish and two colleagues, Hussein Gharir and Hani Zaitani, have been jailed since February 2012. Former detainees who had been held with the men said that authorities subjected them to torture and other ill-treatment. Two other colleagues have also been charged but released, pending trial.

Another featured case is of Bassel Khartabil, a Syrian of Palestinian parents who was arrested on March 15, 2012, in Damascus. A computer engineer, Khartabil founded Creative Commons Syria, a nonprofit organization that helped people legally share artistic and other work with free tools. “My life did not just change after Bassel’s arrest,” a relative told Human Rights Watch. “It literally froze in time.”

Officials provided his family with no information about where or why Khartabil was in custody until December 24, 2012, when they moved him from Sednaya Military Prison, where he had been tortured, to Adra Central Prison in Damascus. Khartabil is being tried before a military field court.

Former detainees told Human Rights Watch that security officials tortured them by forcing them into stress positions, abusing them sexually, including by rape and electric shock to the genitals, and beating them with batons, cables, metal rods, and wires. They described particular methods and devices like shabah, basat el-reeh and dulab, which Syrian guards and interrogators are known to use in detention facilities across the country. According to the Violations Documentation Center, a Syrian monitoring group, nearly 1,200 people are known to have died in detention.

Human Rights Watch has previously documented the locations of 27 detention facilities around Syria where security force members tortured civilians. The report identified the agencies and in many cases the commanders in charge of these facilities…

Some armed opposition groups have also arbitrarily detained people, including journalists, humanitarian workers and activists. In some cases opposition groups have executed detainees. Opposition groups should release all arbitrarily detained people in their custody and treat all detainees in conformity with international human rights standards.

“All governments and especially Security Council member countries should put the plight of these thousands of political detainees high on their agenda for diplomatic discussions,” Stork said. “Those with leverage with the government as well as with opposition forces should press for them to free everyone they are holding unlawfully.” 

Rape and sex abuse with impunity in Syria

Fergal Keane's report for the BBC on rape and sex abuse in Syria here

Why is it that rape and sexual violence have become an integral part of most Arab Spring movements?  Why have they become reprisals so widely used in conflict?

Although rape is one of the oldest scourges of war, why did it afflict the Arab Spring countries? Is it the breakdown of all civilized forms of conduct and the release of inhibitions and hidden urges in wartime? Does being armed embolden bearers to abuse other men, women, boys and girls to cover their cowardice and their servitude to rulers and movements?

According to the latest report from the United Nations Human Rights Council, sexual violence is part of a pattern of crimes against humanity inflicted on civilians in Syria.

Also, a September 25 BBC report documents details of sexual violence against prisoners in Syria. The BBC's Fergal Keane heard harrowing accounts from a number of former detainees:

The first thing he saw was a woman in the corner of the basement. "They were raping her. It was clear that they were raping her. There was blood coming out of her body and she just stayed in the corner."

The witness was working as an activist with a church-based human rights group when he was arrested last November.

The witness says his captors demanded that he confess to smuggling weapons and sending footage of demonstrations to foreign news organizations.

The "rapist officers" behaved like animals, the former detainee says (BBC)

"They hit me, they kick me, they slap me and they (did) something unfriendly and offensive… I know what happens when they arrest someone. I feel like this is the end."

The "rapist officers" behaved like animals, the former detainee says.

At first, he says, a security official began to touch him sexually. There was also an officer who watched what was happening but remained silent. Then he was attacked by a group of three officers.

"The three guys, they are like animals. I tried to protect myself but I'm just a short guy… when they were raping me, I start to say: 'Please don't do that, please don't do that.'"

As he was being raped, he says his attackers mocked him. "You want Assad to quit? This is for saying that you don't like [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad."

A teenage boy was brought into the cell. He, too, was raped. As the assault went on, the boy cried out for his mother.

But -- in the words of another survivor -- the torture cells of Syria are places where "nobody hears your voice, nobody visits you".

Rats and mice were used by interrogators to violate women.... (BBC)

Another witness, a woman, told me she had been held for two months in the notorious Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus -- a building bombed by rebels last May.

The woman was arrested at a checkpoint in Homs late last year.

As part of the torture, she alleges, interrogators used rats and mice to violate women. She described an assault on another prisoner that she says she witnessed.

"He inserted a rat in her vagina. She was screaming. Afterwards we saw blood on the floor. He told her: 'Is this good enough for you?' They were mocking her. It was obvious she was in agony. We could see her. After that she no longer moved."

The New York-based international watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the stigma surrounding such allegations means many victims are reluctant to come forward.

"In many cases… victims did not want their families or others in the community to know about the assault because of fear or shame," the group said.

HRW says sexual violence is used to degrade and humiliate prisoners. Neither they nor the United Nations have so far made allegations of sexual violence against the rebel side.

It also documented cases of sexual violence against detainees in a report issued in June titled, “Syria: Sexual Assault in Detention,” It wrote:

 “Syrian security forces have used sexual violence to humiliate and degrade detainees with complete impunity. The assaults are not limited to detention facilities -- government forces and pro-government shabiha militia members have also sexually assaulted women and girls during home raids and residential sweeps.”

HRW Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson noted in her report:

“Syrian government forces have used sexual violence to torture men, women, and boys detained during the current conflict. Witnesses and victims also told Human Rights Watch that soldiers and pro-government armed militias have sexually abused women and girls as young as 12 during home raids and military sweeps of residential areas.

“Human Rights Watch interviewed 10 former detainees, including two women, who described being sexually abused or witnessing sexual abuse in detention, including rape, penetration with objects, sexual groping, prolonged forced nudity, and electroshock and beatings to genitalia. Many of the former detainees told Human Rights Watch that they were imprisoned because of their political activism, including for attending protests. In other cases, the reason for the detention was unclear but detainees suffered the same abusive tactics.

“Human Rights Watch documented over 20 specific incidents of sexual assault, five of which involved more than one victim, that took place between March 2011 and March 2012 across Syria, including in Daraa, Homs, Idlib, Damascus, and Latakia governorates. The majority of cases were from Homs governorate. Interviewees described a range of sexual abuse by Syrian security forces, the army, and pro-government armed militias referred to locally as shabiha.

“Human Rights Watch interviewed eight Syrian victims of sexual violence, including four women, and more than 25 other people with a knowledge of sexual abuse -- former detainees, defectors from the Syrian security forces and the army, first responders and assistance providers, women’s rights activists, and family members.

“The full extent of sexual violence in and outside of detention facilities remains unknown, Human Rights Watch said. The stigma in Syria surrounding sexual violence makes victims reluctant to report abuse. Survivors also may face dangers when they make crimes public, and researchers have had limited access to the country to document abuses. In many cases interviewees told Human Rights Watch that victims did not want their families or others in the community to know about the assault because of fear or shame. In one case, a female rape victim who was willing to be interviewed was not permitted by her husband to speak to Human Rights Watch.

“Even when they may wish to seek help, Syrian survivors of sexual assault have limited access to medical or psychological treatment and other services in Syria. Survivors who have fled to neighboring countries also face obstacles in seeking treatment, including limited service options and inability to access services that are available because of social taboos surrounding sexual abuse, families restricting their movement, and the fear of being subjected to so-called ‘honor’ crimes.

“It is critical that survivors of sexual assault have access to emergency medical services, legal assistance, and social support to address injuries caused by the assault; prevent pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections; and to collect evidence to support prosecution of perpetrators, Human Rights Watch said…”

Although UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has called for the allegations against the Syrian government, including sexual violence, to be referred to the International Criminal Court, the license to rape and kill goes on unabated.

And as I have written many times before on this blog: Rape is rape is rape…

How long will the “culture of impunity” be allowed to carry on in Syria?

Let’s get sporty, the devil can wait…

Reading a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report last week on the “denial of women’s and girl’s rights to sport in Saudi Arabia,” had me shaking my head and reviewing a lifelong love of sports and physical activities.

Was I on my way to hell? Indeed not. Sport has always been a big part of my life. It has helped me understand teamwork, sportsmanship and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

HRW’s 51-page report, ‘Steps of the Devil’: Denial of Women and Girls’ Right to Sport in Saudi Arabia, published on 15 February 2012, documents “discrimination by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education in denying girls physical education in state schools, as well as discriminatory practices by the General Presidency for Youth Welfare, a youth and sports ministry, in licensing women’s gyms and supporting only all-male sports clubs. The National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia also has no programs for women athletes and has not fielded women in past Olympic Games,” and the upcoming Games in London this summer.

Could I live without sports? Definitely. But would I have the same quality of life? Absolutely not!

With dad, mom and sister Asma at the beach in Jeddah

My mom, Vicky, used to say I learned to swim before walking. First in Jeddah where I was born, then in Baghdad where we moved, swimming was my first and favored sport. I got into it wholeheartedly and collected a good number of small trophies.

Dad Esa in his tennis whites and on the tennis court

Sports were always a drive in the family. My dad, Esa, was a football champion in Palestine and then switched to tennis. His name is engraved on the walls of St. George’s School in Jerusalem. Every trip we made back to the Holy Land, he would take us to visit his school and proudly show us the plaques bearing his name on the walls of the famous institution.

In primary school in Tunis and then at the Lycée, the two hours of physical education per week were my favorite classes. But the one thing I never got around was rope climbing. I just couldn’t coordinate the simultaneous hands and legs movement. The physical education exam helped boost my Baccalauréat grade in my continuing appreciation for all things physical and outdoors.

Happiest in the sea and preparing to dive

We got our first black and white television in 1966 to watch England play, and win, the FIFA World Cup. There was no turning back after that. The TV was switched on at weekends for the football games, mostly the Italian Serie A matches aired then in Tunisia.  Wherever we were, we would rush home on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, whatever we were doing, to watch the games with dad. Friends would join us and the weekend would kick off.

My first bike

My parents always encouraged outdoor activities like walking, cycling and swimming during summer vacation. Any activity we chose was always encouraged, even when I took up fencing for a while. Dad shook his head, but for months still took me to my fencing class. He must have been pleased when that phase died out.

During the 15-year civil war in Lebanon, there was hardly a day I missed going to the beach. Often we would swim while bullets were raining down on the Sporting Club. I continued swimming in London. Luckily the gym was minutes away from my home and office, making it easy to break up the long days with an hour of laps. Living and working in Chelsea, a stone’s throw away from Stamford Bridge, I adopted Chelsea FC as my football team more than 25 years ago.

At the Dubai Marathon

In Dubai, I found gyms expensive so took to the streets, where apart from the past few months, I run in the open air. This led to my participation in the 10K run at the Dubai Marathon in 2009 (see Why I run? – August 13, 2010).

That’s why I find it hard to understand how sports could be “steps of the devil.”

HRW has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make ending discrimination against women in sports in the kingdom a condition for Saudi Arabia’s participation in Olympic sporting events, including the 2012 London Games.

“‘No women allowed,’ is the kingdom’s message to Saudi women and girls who want to play sports,” said Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The fact that women and girls cannot train to compete clearly violates the Olympic Charter’s pledge to equality and gives the Olympic movement itself a black eye.”

Saudi Arabia is one of only three countries in the world never to have sent a female athlete to the Olympics. The other two, Qatar and Brunei, do not bar women from competitive sports and their women athletes have participated in other international sporting competitions.

However Qatar announced on February 20 that it would send women athletes to the Olympics for the first time at the London Games. The IOC has offered Qatar wild card invitations for two female athletes to compete in London — swimmer Nada Arkaji and sprinter Noor al-Malki.

The UAE made history this month when it announced its first women’s track and field squad will be heading to the London Olympics.

Sheikha Maitha leads the UAE in Beijing

Sheikha Maitha in action at the Olympics

Indeed, Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum -- daughter of HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai – also made history for the UAE in 2008. At the Beijing Olympics, Sheikha Maitha became the first woman to represent the Emirates at the Olympic Games where she competed in the 67kg taekwondo event. She was also the first female flag-bearer at the Olympics from the Gulf region, inspiring young women around the Gulf and Middle East.

HRW has called on Saudi Arabia to act within one year to introduce physical education for girls in all schools, open women’s sections, and allocate funds to women’s sport in the youth ministry, the Saudi National Olympic Committee, and Saudi sports federations. The report says “these steps are necessary evidence of a Saudi effort to end discrimination against women in sports and thus a prerequisite for allowing the kingdom to be represented in Olympic events.”

HRW adds, “Women and girls are not only denied the thrill of competition, but also the physical and psychological benefits, leading to longer, healthier lives, that participation in sports conveys...

“Addressing health threats through expanded sports opportunities for women and girls has also been supported by Saudi religious leaders. For example, Sheikh Ali Abbas al-Hikmi, a member of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, the highest religious body, considered women practicing sport an ‘Islamic necessity’ and Adil al-Kalabani, former chief imam of the Holy Mosque in Mecca, supported opening women’s sports clubs… Other government clerics of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, like Sheikh Dr. Abdelkarim al-Khudair, however, have decried women’s sports as ‘steps of the devil’ leading to moral corruption.”

The Olympic Charter states, “The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind [and any] form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”

Apart from appreciating and watching sports on TV, sports are a way of life that can be adopted in a variety of ways and means. It could be walking, running, swimming, basketball, tennis, volleyball, beach sports… The possibilities are endless.

Practicing one sport or other is one of the things we can do for our bodies and ourselves and can only lead to better health and quality of life.

Let’s do it, let’s all get sporty. The devil can wait…

Related post:

Why I run? – August 13, 2010