(Wall Street Journal) While the Syrian regime has long been characterized as among the region's most repressive, rights groups say this spring's crackdown has spurred new levels of brutality. Detainees are held in schools, soccer stadiums, security-force facilities and military hospitals, and subjected to various forms of physical and psychological abuse. Rights workers say the widening use of torture is meant to spread terror not only among protesters, but also those who may consider joining them. But the practice instead appears to have enraged some Syrians into mobilizing against the government. A doctor at a military hospital in Damascus said his hospital has an "alternative ER" where people are tortured.
2011-05-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive