(10 May, 2010 – Cairo) The widespread use of torture by security agencies in Syria, not only against political prisoners and detainees, but also against ordinary criminal detainees, is highlighted in a report submitted to the Committee Against Torture (CAT) by the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS) together with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
The report stresses that Syrian security bodies have become increasingly associated with far-reaching human rights violations. Violations such as abductions and enforced disappearances; arbitrary arrests and detention; solitary confinement; torture and ill treatment; and deprivation from legal and medical assistance, have been increasingly prevalent in Syria over the last decades in the context of the continuing State of Emergency.
Syria ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on July 1, 2004, but the report states that “no concrete improvement has been registered regarding the use of torture or degrading treatment.” Syria will be reviewed by the CAT in early May of this year. Representatives from DCHRS and the Committees for the Defense of Human Rights and Democratic freedoms in Syria will consult with the CAT ahead of the review and attend the review of Syria to address the grave situation of torture in their country.
Signatures
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Committees for the Defense of Democracy, Freedoms, and Human Rights in Syria
Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies
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