Since 2011, more than 75,000 people have vanished or have been forcibly disappeared by the Assad regime and armed militias, Amnesty said.
“While families search for loved ones, the Assad regime is subjecting tens of thousands of civilians, aid workers and peaceful activists to enforced disappearance or arbitrary detention - just to spread fear and collective punishment amongst the Syrian civilian population”, the organization stated.
“Many have been tortured or ill-treated in prisons, and more than 15,000 have died in custody as a result”, it added.
“These practices are carried out as part of a widespread, systematic attack directed against the civilian population by the Assad regime and armed militias. They clearly violate international law, and in many cases, constitute war crimes. We will no longer stand by and let this happen”, Amnesty stated.
Amnesty quoted Fadwa Mahmoud, Syrian activist and co-founder of “Families for Freedom”, mother and wife of two disappeared men, Abdulaziz Al-Kheir and Maher Tahan.
“The days pass by very difficult and very heavy. I live by hope which allows me to go on, and pushes me to work hard for their release. I never lose the hope of their return. I always imagine that moment when I learn of their release”
The petition urges the Unites States and Russia to push Assad regime to disclose the whereabouts and fate of victims of enforced disappearance.
Amnesty shared CH4’s “Syria’s Disappeared” that reveals evidence showing the Head of Assad regime’s Military Intelligence asked to be informed about every single death of an individual in his custody.
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