Damascus, June 28 (SANA) The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on Saturday renewed its call for a comprehensive approach to addressing the legacy of torture under the deposed regime through truth-seeking, accountability, reparations, institutional reform, guarantees of non-recurrence and the implementation of transitional justice.
In a statement issued on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, observed annually on June 26, the organization said its recommendations were based on continuous documentation and analysis conducted since March 2011.
SNHR said its database and analysis of detention patterns showed that torture, enforced disappearance and deaths in detention constituted a widespread and systematic pattern linked to the detention system of the deposed regime rather than isolated incidents.
The organization said documented practices included severe beatings, electric shocks, suspension in painful positions, deprivation of sleep, food and medical care, prolonged solitary confinement, sexual violence, humiliation and harsh detention conditions that could themselves result in death.
According to SNHR, torture in most documented cases was accompanied by enforced disappearance, with detainees denied contact with their families, access to legal counsel and judicial oversight for extended periods. It said the link between arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and deaths in custody required a comprehensive legal response.
SNHR said torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, deaths in detention and enforced disappearance constitute serious violations of international human rights law, particularly the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The organization also welcomed the decrees establishing the Transitional Justice Commission and the National Commission for Missing Persons, saying the two bodies represent an institutional step toward addressing arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and related human rights violations.
The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1997 to reaffirm the international community’s commitment to combating torture, supporting victims, preventing the crime, holding perpetrators accountable and promoting respect for human dignity in accordance with the 1984 Convention against Torture.
N.J/ABD
