Pancaroba: 01/26/13

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Report on the Arbitrary Internment and the Abduction of Women by the Syrian Government Forces

Forces of the Syrian government had recently expanded the abduction and internment of women with the objective of lobbying on their relatives who are activists or members of the Free Syrian Army. These forces has practiced violent methods which are considered crimes against humanity during the absolute and complete absence of the supervisory Petitory organizations around the world and the denial of entry by the Syrian government and preventing them or us to visit the concentration camps to know the reality of what happens to these women, especially in the secret concentration camps.
Interned women are violently tortured with almost the same methods used to torture men and in similar circumstances. The Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented the killing of 17 women out of 6405 interned women or enforced disappeared in all Syrian governorates. They were tortured by primitive methods that belong to the Middle Ages till death, and their full names with their photos and videos are all noted. Among those dead was a 4-month-old baby girl called Afaf Saraqbi.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9Bj18tlYYKBZ2ZDYUxtVmF3bFk/edit
The Baby Girl Afaf Mahmoud Al-Saraqbi
A 4-month-old suckling from Homs, Karm al-Zaitoun district. She was tortured in front of her parents with the objective of lobbying on them. She died in 10/1/2012, and her torture-marked dead body was handed over to her uncle and her parents are still in the concentration camp until now.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/afaf.jpg

Interned Women are incurred to Sexual Abuse:
Among at least up to 4000 cases of rape, nearly 700 cases were interned women in the Syrian authorities’ prisons and were incurred to sexual harassment. These statistics are considered estimative as a result of the extreme difficulty in reaching accurate figures on this particular issue, so the source of these statistics is listening to stories of tens of interned women and through a long accumulated phase of experiences, testimonies and survey researches. These crimes started since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, and the documentation of the very famous incident of an interned man and his wife from Rimal al-Janubi district in Latakia, where the intelligence forces forced the other interned to rape his wife before his eyes.
The Syrian Government Forces have interned or abducted at least 6405 women from nearly 194000 concentration camps. Among those interned women there are nearly a thousand university students, which is classified under the standards of Enforced Disappearance “to arrest, detain or abduct anyone by the state or a political organization, or by permission or support from it or even by acquiescence, followed by a refusal to confess to deprive those persons of their liberty or to give information on their fate or whereabouts with the objective of depriving them of outlawry for a long time”. This is applied on nearly 1200 women; most of them are abducted by the Syrian government militias, which the Syrian people call them “shabiha”. Most of the disappeared women are from Homs, Latakia and Damascus Reef governorates.
We mention that we have not been able to document tens or even hundreds of cases as many inhabitants abstained to cooperate in this issue, or even tens of them denied the internment of their daughters fearing their daughter to have a bad reputation like to say that she was rapped, harassed, electrocuted in sensitive parts, being undressed or the like which is considered a stigma.
The Network has received at least 6 cases where the girl who proved to be rapped was killed by her father or brother to get rid of the stigma that will accompany the family till the last day of the girl’s life, as they thought. There are two cases where the father killed himself after killing his daughter, and there are many other cases where the girl fled from the family home to another city or outside the country to face an unknown fate.
Most of the interned women aged between 17-29 years.
Most cases of internment that the Network has documented were in bus stations while traveling from a government to another for studying in universities. The second ranked places where internment occurs are on campus, just like the incident of last week in Homs University when nearly 150 students were randomly interned, and the third ranked way of internment is the breaking into houses.
As for the abductions, they are systematically carried out at the military checkpoints by forces loyal to the Syrian government “shabiha”, and in order to release the victim they ask for very high compensations.
This negatively reflected on the asylum and escape out of the country, where statistics of the Network indicate that more than 70% of refugees are women and children.
The distribution of concentration camps according to the Syrian governorates is as follows:
Damascus: nearly 1650
Homs: nearly 1400
Latakia: nearly 970
Halab: nearly 850
Daraa: nearly 625
Hama: nearly 475
Idlib: nearly 350
Dir Zour: nearly 85
Some interned women Victims of the Syrian Government Forces:
Student Jomana Abdel Hakim Al-Hamad, Faculty of Engineering, first year. She was interned in 15/5/2012 by air security members who broke into the faculty campus.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/jomana.jpg
Student Mona Borhan, Faculty of Media, Press Department. She is from Al-Zabadani city, born in 1992. She was interned by the Syrian security forces on campus in 09/12/2012, and the day after that her colleague Raba Omar was interned.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/mona.jpg
Student Israa Al-Sayyad from Kesweh city. She was a student in the Institute of Technical Inspectors. She was abducted after departing the institute by the Syrian security forces in 29/10/2012.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/israa.jpg
Student Rahaf Al-Laham, Science Faculty, Damascus University. She is from Mohajreen district in Damascus the capital. She is 21 years old. She was interned in 22/11/2012.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/rahaf.jpg
Khetam Bnian
A university student, Faculty of Law in Damascus. She was interned by the Syrian security forces in 22/11/2012 as a result of her participation in a peaceful protest gather for youth in Bab Sraijeh in Damascus as a protest against the continuity of the continuous killing and destroying of the Syrian cities. Until now, her family couldn’t communicate with her or know where she is interned.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/bnian.jpg
Rama Yasir Al-Assas, born in Damascus in 1/04/1986
A warrant for arrest was issued against her from Palestine branch, so she was obliged to fall off the radar till 27/8/2012 where she incurred to an ambush by security men who asked for a ransom. After paying the two-million-Syrian pound ransom, all communications with Rama were cut and none knows anything about her.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/380997_522151644477885_714781150_n.jpg
Teacher Hend Megali (Om Moder)
The first woman to be interned in Daraa. She participated, with the peaceful movement women activists, in the first manifestation supporting the parents of the interned children in 18/3/2011. She made a sit-in with candles beside Al-Omari Mosque, which was a strange tradition for the conservative Hawrani society but it gained the acceptance of the inhabitants of Hawran and the blessing of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Siasneh.
A 50-years-old woman
An English teacher
Daraa governorate/ Daraa Al-Mahata
She has two young men sons and a young woman daughter
She was interned in 14/9/2012
Worth mentioning is that she is the martyr Ayman Megali’s sister and the aunt of Alisar Megali, the student in the High Institute for Informatics, and who was interned in 10/12/2012.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/422724_445415625508608_1863198664_n.jpg

Journaist Shaza Al-Madad
A journalist whose origins turn back to Deir al-Zour, she lives in Damascus the capital, Moadamieh.
She was arraigned several times by the internal branch of the state security, one of them was after her return from the USA where she spent a month as a part of visitor journalist program, and once again after her resignation from working for Damas Post website, a website funded by the Syrian government, as a result of its coverage of the Syrian revolution.
She wrote her views regarding the Syrian affairs freely on her facebook profile, and it was her crime.
Al-Madad moved in her work as a journalist between many private newspapers and websites, including Baladna, Al-Watan and Al-Khabar newspapers and Kolona Shorakaa and Damas Post websites.
She was born in Qamishli city, the 2nd of November 1986.
She was interned in the 1st of November 2012.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/61400_489627794402129_375765787_n.jpg

Doctor Mai Jandali
A doctor whose first participation in a manifestation was in 25/03/2011 that started in the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus the capital. She participated in the women sit-in with Mai Skaf and a lot of Syrian women in Al-Maydan district. She was interned in a checkpoint while going back to her home in the west of Damascus, which was robbed in the assault by the regime forces upon Jdaydet Artooz.
Damascus/ Gobar
47-years-old woman
Interned in 7/11/2012
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/302874_378345398919770_236134326_n.jpg

Student Hadeel Saied
A university student from Salamieh city. She was interned at 4:00 PM from the University City in Damascus the capital by the state security elements in 5/12/2012.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/67848_298648840253375_1029686585_n.jpg

Artist Ro’a Moataz Jafar
A plastic artist who devoted her artistic sense to defend the victims of her hometown, and She endeavored to cease the killing of children. She, with her friends, organized a silent sit-in where the core idea was to wear white wedding dresses to confirm the peaceful sit-in. the moment after the young women stood in Medhat Pasha Souq in Damascus the capital, security patrols pounced upon them and interned them all, and none knows anything about them until now.
She is a 24-years-old young woman, from Salamieh city.
She was interned Wednesday noon, 21/11/2012.

Engineer Soad Al-Tayed
A Palestinian activist. She was interned from her office in Kornish el Tegara- Damascus by a security patrol belongs to Al-Khatib branch of state security. She is still interned in the branch, with prohibiting visits for her, and she is not yet accused of any judicial accusation until now.
Name: Soad Al-Khatib
Father: Mohamed
Mother: Aesha Jibali
Relief Activist
Profession: interior designer/ graduated in 2002
Palestinian, born in Damascus, Al-Yarmouk Camp in 1977.
Marital Status: married and has a one-year-old child.
Interned in 10/06/2012
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/181171_373546692699744_1035703791_n.jpg

Nurse Lobna Zaour
A nurse from the brides who were interned in the sit-in of Medhat Pasha Souq in Damascus the capital with her friends.
Born in the 7th of April 1990
Damascus Reef, Jarmana
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/486926_513430945368769_1763383721_n.jpg
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/296434_148173671933059_2107553_n.jpg

Student Roba Khedr Omar
A student in the Faculty of Media, Press Department. She was interned from the campus Monday noon, 10/12/2012.
Born in 1992
Qatana/ Kafr Qouq village
http://qfs.mobi/f316456

Lawyer Zainab Abu Azan
A lawyer and a professor. She was interned for the second time after she returned from the university to her home in Al-Qabon district in 02/10/2012.
She studied in the Faculty of Law, Damascus University 2002, and she graduated in 2006, then she prepared for her master and got it in 2008. She ran her own business, then she opened her own law firm in 2012. Then, she registered in the Faculty of Arts, Damascus University, and now she studies the Arabic Language, year two.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/558863_382622818492028_1241893048_n.jpg

Abeer Rafei
Born in Jarmana city (Damascus Reef). She was interned in 18/11/2012 noon by the security with a group of activists, and their fate is still unknown.
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/603984_373757096050772_548242517_n.jpg

Student Hazar Fahim
A psychological counseling student, second year. She is known by her civility and politeness. She was interned from the center of Damascus, and her relatives and we couldn’t be able to get any information about the reason of her internment, her place or her health under the enforced internment and the Compulsory absence system, as there is none can ask or know.
She is a 20-years-old young woman
Interned in the 20th of June 2012
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/487795_407759129283405_385986084_n.jpg

Mervat Sohail Akram
A physiotherapist. Sunday morning, a military armored car for the regime army stopped her while she was going, with one of her relatives, to the blood bank in Alwar district, and soldiers of the Syrian regime interned her without showing any warrant for arrest or internment. They led Mrs. Mervat to a branch of the state security, yet she didn’t stay for a long time there as the military security took her to the branch of the military security in Homs. This was the last thing the Network knew about Mrs. Mervat Akram.
Mervat, who is known by Om Abdu, helped a lot of injured and saved tens of the violence victims in Homs city. She was moving from AL-Khaledeya to Alwar and other districts of the city to help, whether within her domain of specialization or by blood donating. Because of the news about the liquidation of both injured and rescuers and incurring to systematized torture, there is real danger on her life.
City: Homs
Birth: 1974
Father’s Name: Sohail Akram
Mother’s Name: Seddiqa Al-Jesri
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/425968_116409178516363_1380176417_n.jpg

Kanda Zaour
She was one of the brides who participated in the silent sit-in of Medhat Pasha in Damascus the capital, Wednesday noon.
Damascus Reed/ Jarmana
Interned in 21/11/2012
http://syrianhr.org/Upload/savefiles/602530_506018842749201_1716704022_n.jpg

Condemnation and Blame
We in the Syrian network for human rights, as an independent Petitory Syrian national organization for defending human rights, hold the Syrian president and the Commander in Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces, Bashar El-Asad, liable of all the enforced internment acts as he is the chief responsible for issuing commands of these acts. We also consider all the staff of the Syrian government to be immediately responsible, in addition to the supporting governments such as the Russian, Chinese and Iranian governments and Hezbullah battalions. We hold them all liable of all the crimes that are considered crimes against humanity and contradict all treaties against torture. They are also hold liable of all reactions consequential to that, which can be the acts of the Syrian people, especially the relatives of the women martyrs or the rapped women.
We demand the Security Council, the United Nations, the State Members and all the organizations that concerned with woman affairs around the world to work stream ahead for the necessity of lobbying on the Syrian government and the supporting countries to clarify the fate of the interned men and women and the secret places where they are detained, especially the interned women. We take on ourselves to adhere to the items of The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 18 December 1979 by the UN General Assembly under decision No. 24/180, and if they Languished to the adherence of the Syrian people or the protection of civilians, they are hold liable a great part of responsibility with the Syrian regime. They must comply to their moral and legal responsibility, and to accelerate the procedures to transmit everyone involved in these crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Finally, we, as a civil society organization, refer to that there are hundreds of other cases whose culture heritage obliges their relatives to throw a veil of secrecy over their internment or abduction, as a result of their expectation of the violations by the regime security elements. Hence, we mention the necessity to report the incident (internment/ abduction) and to shed light on it to protect the girl, as it was approved with talking to those who released from the concentration camp that the girls who the public opinion demand them (may be beaten or insulted more), but they are safe from being rapped or killed in most cases.