Wounded Syrians Abused at Hospitals, Rights Group Says

[alp227]

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

[Rebubula]

1. I assume...

...that this surprises no one.

[Arctic Dave]

2. Considering the US is guilty of the same thing in Iraq and Afghanistan. No.

Seems this is a practice that everyone takes part in. Next they will say prisoners were beaten to death in custody. Or have they not reached that chapter of the Iraq Chronicles yet?

[pampango]

3. AI is trustworthy on issues like this whether they are criticizing friend or foe.

This is not some partisan political source that has an ulterior motive.

[No Elephants]

4. "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Lord Acton, 1887

Sometimes, no one can improve upon the oldies, which is not surprising because "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

("The more it changes, the more it's the same thing" or "The more things change, the more they stay the same.") Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. 1849




Ah, those nineteenth century laser minds and pens.