As-Suwayda detainees demand to hold perpetrators accountable 

More than twenty people from As-Suwayda were arrested at a checkpoint in the city of Homs last Saturday by the Damascus authorities while they were heading to the Raqqa canton. They were released yesterday, Sunday, after being subjected to physical torture and verbal insults, including humiliating sectarian slurs, in addition to threats of liquidation. Witnesses described the scene as "brutal and inhumane," according to engineer Ghada Shaarani.

To condemn this, the "Governor" of the Damascus Authority, Mustafa Bakour, met with the detainees today at the governorate center, during which they explained the torture they had been subjected to.

Sources reported that some of the victims were unable to attend the meeting due to critical psychological and physical conditions, after being subjected to severe beating and bruises that nearly cost them their lives.

It was also confirmed that there are detainees from the Alawite sect, and that some women are giving birth under the conditions of the cells in Harim prison, in addition to other violations.

During the meeting, the founder of the National Democratic Belonging Party, Raja al-Damqsi, spoke on behalf of the detainees, revealing the marks of torture on his body. He confirmed that the violations occurred at the Homs checkpoint and in the Harim prison. He pointed out that "the current regime is no different from its predecessor in terms of brutality and the blatant violation of human rights."

One of the young men also delivered an emotional speech, revealing cigarette burn marks and bruises on his body, confirming the brutality of what they had endured. The detainees, through their interventions, reprimanded the "governor" of the Damascus authority in As-Suwayda.

For his part, the governor of As-Suwayda claimed to be following up on the case and holding the perpetrators accountable. He mentioned the formation of a committee from the people of As-Suwayda to follow up on the investigation, describing the situation as painful, especially after visiting some of the women who were subjected to the violation. He said that what happened "has nothing to do with humanity and cannot be tolerated."

The delegation demanded that all human rights organizations, foremost among them the Human Rights Organization, and the international community, open an investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable, and provide psychological and medical support to the detainees, affirming that what happened constitutes a violation of all international human rights, political, economic, and social covenants.

T/S

ANHA