Syrian regime 'torture' photographs

[superbeets]

Witness said he was tasked to record deaths in custody from 2011 to 2013

There are 55,000 photos which lawyers say are evidence of extreme torture
Report made by ex-war crimes prosecutors who deem witness 'credible'
One lawyer said abuses are likely to be even more extensive

Foreign Secretary said the images are 'compelling and horrific'
Dossier commissioned by British lawyers for Qatar which supports rebels
Assad regimes questioned the authenticity of the photographs

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[superbeets]

Shocking: This picture is one of 55,000 taken by a Syrian military police defector showing emaciated corpses which investigators say are evidence of extreme torture by Assad's regime. Photographs: The Report

Leverage: The report is being made available to the United Nations, governments and human rights groups just as peace talks are due to begin in Switzerland tomorrow to try to end the three-year conflict





And today Foreign Secretary William Hague, as well as the U.S. government, condemned the crimes shown in the photographs, and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

 

[superbeets]

The images have drawn condemnation from international aid groups as well.

Graphic: The defector's evidence, which records deaths of those in custody from March 2011 until August 2013, were smuggled out along with files detailing the victims on memory sticks

Dossier of evidence: The photos will ratchet up the pressure on President Bashar Al Assad who the US and its Western allies - including the UK - say has committed war crimes against his own people

Allegations: The photographs allowed a death certificate to be produced without requiring families to view bodies, and also confirmed that execution orders had been carried out, the report claimed

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[superbeets]

Tension: An inquiry team said the images were 'clear evidence... of systematic torture and killing of detained persons by the agents of the Syrian government'. President Assad, pictured, denies the claims

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[superbeets]

Horrific: The inquiry team said it was satisfied there was 'clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of persons detained by the Syrian government'

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[superbeets]

+12

Documenting death: Caesar said his job was to take pictures of killed detainees, but did not claim to have witnessed executions or torture

 

[superbeets]

And today Foreign Secretary William Hague, as well as the U.S. government, condemned the crimes shown in the photographs, and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
Mr Hague described the images as 'compelling and horrific', and said: 'it is important those who have perpetrated these crimes are one day held to account.'
A spokesman from the U.S. State Department said: 'These reports suggest widespread and apparently systematic violations by the regime. These most recent images ... are extremely disturbing. They're horrible to look at.'

Sir Desmond de Silva, one of the lawyers who compiled a report on the credibility of the images, said that the evidence 'documented industrial-scale killing.' He pointed out that because the images purport to come from just one part of Syria, the human rights abuses could be much more widespread.
‘This is a smoking gun of a kind we didn’t have before. It makes a very strong case indeed,’ he said.
‘It is the tip of the iceberg because this is 11,000 in just one area.'

Assad denies the claims, insisting he is fighting terrorists, while a Syrian government spokesman questioned whether the images were even taken in Syria.

The 31-page report - released by The Guardian and CNN - was commissioned by Carter-Ruck solicitors in London on behalf of the Qatari government, which supports the Syrian uprising.

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[superbeets]

The dossier is being made available to the United Nations, governments and human rights groups just as peace talks are due to begin in Switzerland tomorrow to try to end the three-year conflict.

Evidence supplied by the defector records deaths of those in custody from March 2011 until August 2013. The photos were smuggled out along with files detailing the victims on memory sticks.

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[ScottL]

Some say Assad's father was even WORSE!

 

[neverbend]

It seems like most posters are anti-Assad & pro Al-Quada! Outrage at the growth in fanaticism and brutality after years of giving support to the mythical 'Free Syrian Army' just won't cut it. We and our 'allies' helped create this mess and destroyed the lives of millions of ordinary Syrians, citizens of the nearest thing to a secular society in the Middle East! Why do you think the Christians & Drues in large majorities support Assad!

 

[Dave007inVegas]

Those photos look a lot like the ones documented by Eisenhower.