15 December 2011
Report
'Shoot to kill' commanders named in Human Rights Watch report
(Human Rights Watch/IFEX) – Cairo, December 15, 2011 – Former Syrian soldiers identified by name 74 commanders and officials responsible for attacks on unarmed protesters, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The report names commanders and officials from the Syrian military and intelligence agencies who allegedly ordered, authorized, or condoned widespread killings, torture, and unlawful arrests during the 2011 anti-government protests. Human Rights Watch has urged the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and impose sanctions against the officials implicated in abuses.
The 88-page report, "'By All Means Necessary!': Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria," is based on more than 60 interviews with defectors from the Syrian military and intelligence agencies. The defectors provided detailed information about their units' participation in attacks, abuses against Syrian citizens, and the orders they received from commanders and officials at various levels, who are named in the report.
"Defectors gave us names, ranks, and positions of those who gave the orders to shoot and kill, and each and every official named in this report, up to the very highest levels of the Syrian government, should answer for their crimes against the Syrian people," said Anna Neistat, associate director for emergencies at Human Rights Watch, and one of the authors of the report. "The Security Council should ensure accountability by referring Syria to the International Criminal Court."
The defectors' statements leave no doubt that the Syrian security forces committed widespread and systematic abuses, including killings, arbitrary detention, and torture, as part of a state policy targeting the civilian population, Human Rights Watch said. These abuses constitute crimes against humanity.
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Click here to read the full report
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