Wounded Syrians Abused at Hospitals, Rights Group Says [View All]

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Source: NY Times

Wounded antigovernment protesters have faced beatings and been denied care at state-run hospitals in Syria as security forces pressured medical personnel into assisting in a brutal crackdown on dissent, according to a report released Tuesday by Amnesty International.

The 39-page report, based on interviews with patients and medical workers, describes grisly scenes of abuse in at least four hospitals in the cities of Banias, on the Mediterranean coast, Tel Kalakh, near Lebanese border, and Homs, including reports of wounded men tortured by security forces at their bedsides.

The report does not quote any of the medical workers by name because of the danger faced by those who speak up against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The scenes described to human rights groups by doctors and patients could not be independently verified.

But for months, human rights organizations have accused the Syrian government of controlling access to medical facilities and of sending security forces into hospitals in order to detain those suspected of taking part in demonstrations.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/world/middleeast/syria.html