(Amnesty International) Amnesty International Tuesday condemned the unfair trial by Syria of seven Kurdish prisoners of conscience, and the alleged torture and ill-treatment of Kurdish minors held in custody for months without trial. The seven were arrested on 25 June 2003 for taking part in a peaceful demonstration in front of the UNICEF building in Damascus calling for the rights of Syrian Kurds to be respected including their right to be taught in the Kurdish language. Amnesty has also received the names of more than 20 Kurdish children, aged 14-17, arrested in March 2004 in northern Syria, who have reportedly been subjected to various types of torture while held incommunicado at security and police detention centers. Among the torture techniques were electric shocks on hands, feet, and sensitive parts of the body; extraction of toe nails; banging the heads of children violently against each other; and beating with electric cables and rifle butts.
2004-06-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive