THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.
*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*
Torture!
Al-Hubait Massacre| 30 June 2012 | 10 Children Killed in 10 Minutes
At 06:00 pm, the Syrian regime’s army helicopters fiercely attacked the town of Al-Hubait, located 77 kilometers from the center of the city of Idleb and near the city of Khan Shaikoun. Local activists and the families of victims were interviewed, both noting that the helicopters used heavy bombs. The regime’s army shelled the densely populated city deliberately killing 13 victims and injuring 35 people. In all, 10 children were killed within the first few minutes of the attack. There is evidence that the regime deliberately and systematically targets civilians with these seemingly random shelling attacks.
**WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES**
Injured children from the regime attack are treated at the Kafr Zaita hospital in Al-Hubait.
Hameh Massacre | 26 June 2012 | 21 Victims in 2 Hours
At 02:30, Tuesday 26 June 2012, the Syrian regime’s army raided Al-Hameh city, located 12 kilometers to the west of the Syrian capital Damascus. The force included: tanks, armoured vehicles, at least 15,000 infantry soldiers, and pro-regime’s Shabeeha militias (from the neighbouring areas of Jabal Al-Ward and Al-Buhouth Al-Ilmya). This combined force shelled the city for two hours destroying numerous houses. They harvested the lives of twenty one civilians in these two short hours. Most of the victims were killed by army snipers. All the victims were buried in the Al-Sadat cemetery.
**WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES**
Victims from the massacre on 26 of June in Al-Hameh. The attack was perpetrated by the Syrian regime’s army aided by pro-regime Shabeeha militias.
All information and videos in this report provided by:
Mahmoud Al-Ahmad’s Story: A Paramedic of Hama City
Paramedic, Mahmoud Al-Ahmad, locally known “Abu Hussein” was one of the most prominent paramedic among the volunteers who aided the wounded in the city of Hama. He was born in Hama in 1985. He leaves behind, a young child, a girl less than one year old.
Since the early days of the Syrian revolution, Abu Hussein took to the street as both a protester and a paramedic. On 3 June 2012, the “Children of Freedom’s” Friday, he received a gunshot that penetrated his chest. For treatment, he was transported to a makeshift hospital where he was treated and remained through recovery. He then returned to Hama as an avid activist.
He was persistent and worked hard, founding a makeshift hospital in the Mashaa Al-Arba’een neighbourhood, which was targeted by the Syrian regime’s army. This neighbourhood had the largest number of the wounded in the city of Hama during the regime’s army offensive.
Abu Hussein treated and aided hundreds of the wounded in the city of Hama. All locals speak highly of his good morals, loyalty and the invaluable aid he provided.
Abu Hussein documented, using a personal camera, the wounded whom he aided. He did so to show the world the crimes against humanity committed by the Syrian regime. The following are examples taken out of scores of videos he recorded in the makeshift hospital. SNHR and DCHRS have the original copies of these videos that have been uploaded to YouTube.
The footage below shows the wounded in the Al-Hamedya makeshift hospital, where they are supervised and receive treatment from Abu Hussein.
On 20 June 2012, the Syrian regime’s army and security forces launched an offensive on Hama city; they shelled the city continually for three days and isolated it from the whole world using a media and communications blackout. Numerous citizens fell victims and many more were wounded. Abu Hussein hurried to aid the wounded. While he was treating one of the victims a mortar shell, fired by the regime’s forces, hit them and killed Mahmoud along with the four citizens who were accompanying him while he treated the wounded.
In the video below, the location of the body of Abu Hussein, the paramedic of Hama, is shown. The heroic efforts he provided to the injured of Hama are un-matched.
Mus’ab Bard’s Story: A Doctor and Paramedic
Doctor and paramedic Mus’ab Bard, was tortured to death by regime forces for aiding civilians. He was the epitome of a medical hero.
Mus’ab Bard (1 January, 1992 – 14 June, 2012) was born in Teftenaz, Idleb, Syria. He was a student in the Faculty of Medicine, at Aleppo University. He came from an eight person family. He had three brothers (one is a doctor, the other an engineer, and the third a pharmacist), and two sisters (both are attending school). Mus’ab was always one of the finest students, garnering high achievements and the best grades, both in high school and in his first two years at the University. However, even more noticeable were his strong morals and values that were present in all his actions.
The young doctor became a part of the Syrian revolution protests in the city of Aleppo. He was also a member on a paramedic team that gave treatment and aid to the wounded. Mus’ab was detained in one of the protests on 6 September, 2011. It began as the funeral procession of Ibrahim Salqeeni, a respected scholar in Aleppo, who was poisoned by the Assad regime, according to his family. Mus’ab was detained for a month for the crime of attending the funeral and videographing it. After Mus’ab was released, he stopped attending protests and began a new task: aiding the wounded and rescuing the injured.
Once Musa’b took upon this new task he worked around the clock, serving the cause of helping humanity. He traveled with a small bag containing very basic and humble instruments to aid him in his work. He had many supporters and was well known by dozens of Syrian activist for this noble role which he acquired during the revolution.
On Sunday, the 17th of June, the Syrian regime’s Air Force Intelligence detained Mus’ab and two of his class mates, Basel Aslan and Hazem Batteek. The three were all returned dead one week later on Sunday the 24 of June. Their bodies clearly showed that they had been tortured and were badly burned. Mus’ab’s brother had difficulty identifying him due to the severity of the burns extending even to his hair. The doctors confirmed that Mus’ab had been tortured and burned to death. A bullet hole was also found on his body that indicated that the bullet had passed completely through his body.
Thousands of people held a funeral procession for the murdered medical students in Saif Addawla, Aleppo. The video below shows the procession.
The video below shows the burned bodies of the three medical students inside the coroner’s office.
**WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES**
Mus’ab’s body was later tranported to Teftenaz, his birthplace, where he was buried.
All information, videos, and photos in this report provided by:
The Syrian regime’s army troops and security forces raided the city of Douma after fiercely shelling and bombarding it with helicopters. Therefore, the Free Syrian Army members and more than 95 % of its residents fled the city after scores of residents were killed with continual fierce shelling. On Thursday, 28 of June 2012, the Syrian regime’s army took the lives of 71 citizens in the city of Douma.
It is worth mentioning that the regime’s forces and pro-regime shabeeha militias raided the two makeshift hospitals in Al-Jalaa Street. Volunteer doctors and paramedics fled to save their lives, leaving behind scores of wounded citizens including at least 8 in critical situations. There are still some nurses providing aid in makeshift hospitals. However, there are grave concerns that the regime’s forces may extra judicially execute the wounded, mimicking the actions taken in Baba Amr. There, after seizing control of the makeshift hospitals, the regime’s army quickly executed the wounded receiving care.
After leaving the air in Baba Amr filled with the stench of death and the streets and sidewalks littered with bodies, regime forces ensured that any survivors would be unable to go for help by cutting the town off from the rest of the world. Telecommunications, electricity and water were disconnected by regime forces, who surrounded the town, prohibiting anyone from leaving or entering. They also denied access for humanitarian aid, including provisions of food and medicine.
The Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies and the Syrian Network for Human Rights have verified that regime forces are systematically attempting to wipe the city of Douma off the face of the earth, killing innocent citizens and looting their homes. A new deployment of military reinforcements arrived in the town a short while ago, and a child was found stabbed by regime forces next to the Heseibeh Mosque. Regime’s forces are clearly intent on continuing their siege on the town, and if international actors do not intervene swiftly, Douma will become another Baba Amr situation.
SNHR & DCHRS demand the international community and the UN Security Council to fulfill their responsibilities and bring the regime’s perpetrations in the city of Douma to light by making a swift decision to make the announcement that Douma is an inflicted city. It is also requested that UN countries swiftly set up humanitarian corridors to transport the wounded, women children and men to places of safety. SNHR & DCHRS hold the Syrian regime fully and directly responsible for all acts of killing, looting and rape, repercussions and consequences thereof.
All information contained in this report provided by:
Press Release
Hermitage Capital
2 July 2012 – The Russian Interior Ministry reported this morning that the UK authorities had refused their mutual legal assistance request in the case of posthumous prosecution of late whistle-blowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and in-absentia prosecution of his client William Browder who is campaigning for targeted visa and financial sanctions on the Russian government officials involved in the false arrest, torture and in-custody murder of Magnitsky.
In spite of the refusal from the UK to cooperate in this high-profile matter, the Russian Interior Ministry stated their intention to move the first-in-history posthumous case to trial, saying they see no “legal” obstacle to it.
The UK refusal to execute the Russia’s mutual legal assistance request was issued by the UK State Secretary on national security grounds.
The Russian Interior Ministry announced the UK refusal of mutual legal assistance to Russia on the official website this morning, saying:
“UK competent bodies replied to us: The UK can not provide the requested legal assistance, because the State Secretary considers that the execution of the request is likely to prejudice the sovereignty, security, public order or other essential interests of the UK.”
The refusal by the UK of Russia’s legal assistance request was issued under the 1959 European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/html/030.htm), to which both the UK and Russia are parties, which provides for the refusal of requests if they are likely to prejudice security, public order and essential national interests.
The Russian Interior Ministry further said in their official announcement:
“Nevertheless, in accordance with Russian judicial norms, this fact [the refusal of mutual legal assistance] does not pose an obstacle for sending the case to court, because Russian investigators have followed juridical formalities in full.”
The posthumous prosecution of Sergei Magnitsky was launched on orders from Viktor Grin, Russia’s Deputy General Prosecutor, on 30 July 2011, three days after the U.S. State Department announced visa bans on Russian officials associated with Magnitsky’s death, which include Viktor Grin himself. Prosecutor Grin is No 33 on the U.S. Helsinki Commission list of those involved in persecution of Magnitsky and corruption he had uncovered.
In spite of 30 complaints from the Magnitsky family and calls from Amnesty International and members of the Council of Europe and the European Union, Russian courts and government bodies have the posthumous prosecution of Sergei Magnitsky.
Conclusions from the Russian Human Rights Council of gross violations of human rights and breaches of the European Human Rights Convention in the Magnitsky case have been rejected by the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office. Russian Interior Ministry Officers involved in the false arrest, torture and death of Mr Magnitsky have been promoted and decorated with state honours.
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