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Hundreds said missing after latest Syrian crackdown
By Steve Rodan
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, February 7, 2000
LONDON [MENL] -- Opposition sources and human rights groups said hundreds of
people have disappeared in the latest crackdown by Damascus against critics
of Syrian peace talks with Israel.
The London-based Amnesty International has expressed concern for the
safety of hundreds of political opponents arrested since Dec. 12. The group
said torture and ill-treatment are systematically used against political
detainees in Syria.
"The military intelligence and other branches of the Syrian security
forces have made the arrests in Homs, Aleppo, Damascus and other parts of
the country," Amnesty said. "Those arrested come from political or religious
groups which oppose the peace process with Israel and include large numbers
of members of Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brothers or Hizb al-Tahrir
as well as supporters of leftist groups. They are also said to include
former political detainees and people who are unaligned but who oppose the
peace process."
The group said information about the arrests is extremely difficult to
obtain. Only recently have the names of a few of those arrested been made
public, Amnesty said.
Human rights groups said hundreds of people are in prison in Syria for
political reasons, some for many years without charge or trial. Others have
been brought to trial before the Supreme State Security Court where trials
fall far short of fair trial standards.
The Syrian Human Rights Committee said thousands of political detainees
have vanished as authorities simply deny their existence. The committee said
United Nations efforts to find them have failed.
Monday, February 7, 2000
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