Good news for all affected by Assad's torture system

June 19, 2018 2:54 AM

"I choose justice and human rights over revenge and violence as my means to fight back against what Jamil Hassan has done to me and my friends. And today's decision shows that I chose the right path and I am very grateful for it", says Yazan Awad. He was held four and a half months in various detention facilities of the air force intelligence and was severely tortured during this time. He is one of the claimants in the complaint submitted in November 2017. Caution: Some of the links I used contain photographs showing the bodies of people who had been tortured or descriptions of torture.

Der Spiegel (Germany) “Germany Takes Aim at Assad's Torture Boss”, 8 June 2018
Warning: article contains an image of tortured people.

Washington Post (US): "Germany seeks arrest of leading Syrian general on war crimes charges", 8 June 2018
Caution: contains description of torture.

Middle East Eye (UK) “Germany issues arrest warrant for top Syrian government official”, 8 June 2018

Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany): “Fahndung nach dem Folterknecht“, 10 June 2018
In German.

El País (Spain) “Building the case against Assad”, 15 June 2018
Strong warning: this contains a video (not autoplay but you see a pale image in the still before it starts) and opens with a very graphic description of what was inflicted on him by a victim

Le Monde (France): "La justice allemande inculpe un haut dignitaire syrien" 12 June 2018

Al Jazeera (Qatar): [Video] (15 min), 10 June 2018 الحصاد - سوريا.. مذكرة اعتقال أولى
Warning: this video contains images of serioulsy injured, starving as well as dead children and adults.

Dossier by ECCHR PDF - contains statements by victims describing what was done to them but no photographs.

posted by 15L06 (5 comments total)

detention facilities of the air force intelligence

It's always the air force
posted by thelonius at 4:01 AM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you have the stomach to look through these reports, you will find again confirmation that the discourse surrounding torture that the right-wing prefers, that it is a method of discovering the truth, especially in a "ticking time bomb" Hollywood security theater scenario, is completely disjoint from the actual typical use of torture: to dehumanize and terrorize opposition, and thereby demoralize a subjugated population.
posted by thelonius at 9:00 AM on June 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

If anyone is looking for a really chilling examination of torture, namely, what torture is and what it does, I'd recommend Elaine Scarry's "The Body in Pain".
posted by lilies.lilies at 9:04 AM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

I think that international criminal courts are one of the only civilized ways of dealing with leaders who commit horrible crimes against their own people or other persecuted people. The US needs to rejoin the existing ICC and help enforce their rulings. Of course, in our current situation we would probably be prosecuted as well. Tyrants and dictators need to be made to personally face the consequences of their actions via financial ruin, removal from power, imprisonment, etc. The alternative of waging war and killing innocents, and destroying infrastructure should not stand as the only way to deal with them. *wishful thinking*
posted by agatha_magatha at 10:14 AM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

I don't want to read the articles but I'm glad somebody is putting this information out there.
posted by KateViolet at 11:35 AM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]