Published: · Region: Middle East · Category: intelligence

Torture Practices Survive Syria’s Leadership Change, Watchdog Warns of Exposed Abuses

A new report by Syrians for Truth and Justice says torture and forced confessions that defined Bashar al-Assad’s rule are persisting under Syria’s new leadership. The findings suggest that for detainees, little has changed behind prison walls, raising hard questions for governments betting on Damascus’ gradual rehabilitation.

For Syrians who have passed through the country’s detention system, the change in leadership at the top of the state has not meant a change in what happens in the interrogation room. Methods of torture and forced confessions that became synonymous with Bashar al‑Assad’s security apparatus are still being used under Syria’s new authorities, according to a report published on Friday by the Paris-based watchdog Syrians for Truth and Justice. The group, which has spent years documenting abuses committed during Syria’s war, said in its latest publication that practices long described by survivors under Assad’s rule persist in facilities controlled by the current leadership. While the report’s full details were…

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