Syrian Revolution Digest – Monday 23 July 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

No Refuge!

Four of Assad’s top aides were killed, and several more injured, still the shelling and killing continue. There’s no denying it anymore: it’s Assad and his brother who are guiding this process. They are the main culprits, and they cannot be pardoned.

Sunday July 22, 2012

Today’s Death toll: 111. The Breakdown: 65 in Damascus and Suburbs, 13 in Daraa, 12 in idlib, 10 in Homs, 7 in Deir Ezzor, 5 in Hama, 3 in Aleppo, 2 in Quneitra, 1 in Lattakia, 1 in Banyas and 1 in Raqqah.

Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiyah, Haran Al-Awameed, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Modan, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh (Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen, Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo, Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Maar’at Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar Shoureen (Idlib)

Turkish authorities use tear gas to disperse protests in the Syrian refugee camp in Kilis http://youtu.be/rbmTfuyVPX0

News

Syrian forces execute 20 unarmed men in Damascus: activists (Reuters) – Syrian troops executed at least 20 unarmed men in the Damascus neighborhood of Mezzeh on Sunday who they suspected of aiding rebels in the area, opposition activists in the district said. (Video from activists)

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Syria’s Kurds stand alone after rejecting rebels and regime As long as Turkey remains opposed to Kurdish independence and the KRG lacks opportunities to break its financial reliance on Baghdad, an independent Kurdistan will remain a remote prospect.

Lee Smith: No Sanctuary for Assad Almost everything that has unfolded in Syria over the last 16 months was predictable. The White House has failed repeatedly to take advantage of the Syrian dictator’s travails. Now with Assad fighting for his life, it’s time for the administration finally to show a killer instinct. If the regime takes flight from Damascus, it should never be allowed to reach safe haven in Latakia.

Where Can Syria’s Asma Assad Go? As her husband’s reign crumbles, rumors are flying that Syria’s first lady has fled to Russia—a state notorious for sheltering global outlaws.

By shelling the village of Jabatha Al-Khashab in Quneitra Province on the border of Israel, Assad officially violated the ceasefire agreement in place since 1974. The move, however, did not warrant any response from Israel, because Assad was still targeting his own people http://youtu.be/4kBPvt6QGPA

Turks, Kurds, And Al-Qaeda

Kurdish activists say that this video shows Turkish troops arriving in Nusaybinehttp://youtu.be/VA2hctdPel4 The move seems to come in response to the recent takeover by Syrian Kurds of their communities in Syria, rather than to the anything else happening in Syria. No similar response took place when Syrian rebels aided by Al-Qaeda forces took over the border checkpoint of Bab Al-Hawa in the northwest.

Regarding Al-Qaeda’s and foreign fighters’ presence in northern Syria, AFP noted:

Rebel forces gained control of the Bab al-Hawa crossing on Thursday, but on Saturday, a group of some 150 foreign fighters were in control of the post, an AFP photographer said. Some fighters said they belonged to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), while others claimed allegiance to a group called Shura Taliban. They were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket launchers and improvised mines.

The world has waited too long, and the wrong forces rose up to fill up the vacuum. Indeed, while trying to downplay the role played by foreighn fighters and Al-Qaed ain Syria, spokesman for the FSA, Col. Malik Kurdi, noted that frustration with the international reposnse towards the situation in Syria and the refusal by the international community to arm the FSA have facilitated the rise of radical elements. But in order to contain this tendency, Col. Kurdi said, the FSA has to include these radical elements in its membership.

A New Twist

Hassam Hassam is a name familiar to those who followed developments related to the assassination of Former Lebanese PM, Rafic Al-Hairir. It’s the name of a Syrian intelligence officer who played a twisted role in the plot and who finally returned to Syria to resume his job. Hassam was captured on Saturday by Syrian rebels in Damascus City following an attack on a security headquarters. Upon his capture, Hassam identified himself and led his captors to a “treasure trove” of documents related to the Hariri assassination and in a video interview with his captors promised more sensational revelations. For their part, his captors promised to send Hassam to Saad Al-Hariri in Beirut as a gifthttp://youtu.be/YtSgAsCV1y8 And here is Haaretz report on this matter.

Video Highlights

Damascus

Several neighborhoods in the Mazzeh District, Damascus City, were pounded today for the third consecutive day http://youtu.be/1Bj4HPPGE6A The neighborhoods that were pounded are close to the Canadian and the Iranian Embassies as well as Al-Razi Hospital. The local cactus groves (cactus is a popular fruit in the summer) were also pounded to prevent rebels from hiding there http://youtu.be/xVCGHi-uOXs , http://youtu.be/uUhTOZNFD2M But pounding was not enough, the regime soon sent in bulldozers to make sure that the groves are destroyed once and for all. Pro-Assad militias executed 20 local activists believe to have supported the rebels http://youtu.be/u2akHXejDrU

Local rebels attack the police headquarters in Khalid Bin Al-Waleed Streetarmed with light weapons in retaliation for the massacre that took place there on Friday http://youtu.be/Z8lKH8NUDgE Here is the brigade patrolling free in the narrow streets of Old Damascus http://youtu.be/8vLsJ04RDZ8

In Qaboun Neighborhood, local activists found bodies belonging to people who were killed in their own home http://youtu.be/p2GUPdNo90k and people keep pulling burnt out bodies from under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the shelling http://youtu.be/DKq9EQmqRqw Meanwhile, helicopter gunships pound the neighborhood of Barzeh http://youtu.be/CKYNWyceNIU

In Naher Eisheh, dozens of loyalist troops patrol the streetshttp://youtu.be/IN4RZ_ewG3Y

The pounding of Zabadani, Damascus Suburbs, continueshttp://youtu.be/fyZRxFP1bKM , http://youtu.be/o1P3gB5KXQQ

In the town of Dmeir, local activists found several unidentified bodies in the streets http://youtu.be/7n_eYVMq5TI in addition to one of their ownhttp://youtu.be/yvULGmXOSyc all were obviously executed by pro0-Assad militias.

Aleppo

Rebels liberate the border crossing at Al-Salamah at the Syrian-Turkish bordershttp://youtu.be/UQYVZMWBLjI The Jarablos crossing was also liberatedhttp://youtu.be/DR9-cr8j8cQ

Rebels have established control over major parts of Aleppo City: Hananohttp://youtu.be/xARakSNSa1c Clashes continued in Haydariyehhttp://youtu.be/sfaYs4Ya6Is , http://youtu.be/OEayDCYqFbA Tanks come inhttp://youtu.be/AoyW91WzN3s Seif Al-Dawleh http://youtu.be/2NBcWoK1EkAThe pounding of Al-Ard Al-Hamrah http://youtu.be/Xxn73h7jjrw The pounding ofSakhour http://youtu.be/79YZFK5Aer4 Clashes in Sakhourhttp://youtu.be/RWUuW0GeSE4 Rebels patrol the neighborhoodhttp://youtu.be/Bw5pxLDwxHY Nighttime clashes take place in Salaheddinehttp://youtu.be/5DZWIhErNGY More reinforcements arrive to support the rebels in Aleppo City http://youtu.be/X7aRz0dN4sk Taking Aleppo one checkpoint at a time http://youtu.be/1Qda3RTSYdE

In Al-Atareb, Aleppo Province, local resistance groups storm the local police academy http://youtu.be/M9LdbipLOaU , http://youtu.be/RDGDHDeIF38 ,http://youtu.be/GGbPWc8ub34 , http://youtu.be/scaaQF2xFr0 In the town ofEizaz, rebels take control of a tank http://youtu.be/nfGVY5EHEb0 ,http://youtu.be/Xzd1KBxEQvs

Elsewhere

The pounding of Rastan continues http://youtu.be/qnW995c5plE ,http://youtu.be/StQpwTpd0WM Desolation http://youtu.be/SQlX4Zol77U But local rebels keep pushing back attempts at invading the city and keep pushing back all checkpoints http://youtu.be/KHuAyCw2TC0 , http://youtu.be/sFas0abkjLQ

Pro-Assad militias are reportedly looting the treasures of Palmyra (Tadmor), Homs Province http://youtu.be/Q2GtEfP–7A

Clashes in Tafas, Daraa Province, between rebels and loyalistshttp://youtu.be/brEmN7U7u8A

The pounding of Hawash, Hama Province, continueshttp://youtu.be/aC82uXjW9l0 , http://youtu.be/Dl0remsjXhM ,http://youtu.be/IdDUWgpc2K8

In the town of Armanaz, Idlib Province, local fighters manage to repel an attack by loyalist troops http://youtu.be/ksMGqcnoiOU then proceed to take over the local police station http://youtu.be/iHo6_bLuLsA

Jabal Al-Akrad, Lattakia Province: the regime tries to jumpstart fires by pounding the mountains where rebels are hiding http://youtu.be/soNBEhag6fE

Syrian Network for Human Rights and Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies: Arbeen Massacre

This is a detailed and verified account of the Al-Arbeen massacre committed by the Al-Assad regime’s forces on Thursday, 19 July 2012.  On that Thursday, regime forces launched an offensive on the town of Al-Arbeen at 6:00 a.m., starting with a heavy and indiscriminate shelling attack using both military planes and tanks to shell residential homes.

A video showing a helicopter launching a shell at the town.

Snipers were stationed on high buildings and targeted any civilians attemting to step outside their home, particularly the terrified residents who attempted to flee from their homes to escape the shelling.  Regime forces paused the shelling offensive for a short period of time, but then renewed attacks with tanks, rockets, and military planes and helicopters.

Although shelling attacks were reported all over the town, 90 percent of the rockets which fell targeted At-Tahoon Street, near the old Al-Quwaidar gas station.  It left the street in shambles and completely destroyed the electric grid in the area.

The destruction caused by the shelling attacks.

Activists and eyewitnesses to the attack and its aftermath verified that more than 200 mortar shells were used to attack the town.  This military offensive by regime forces resulted in 28 casualties and dozens of wounded residents, all in a matter of a few short hours.  The makeshift hospitals established were simply not enough to keep up with the sheer amount of wounded residents brought in.
**WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES**

Some of the victims of the massacre.

 

All information and videos in this report provided by:

Syrian Network for Human Rights

Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies in Syria

UK Conservative Party Human Rights Commission Calls on the British Government to Urgently Impose Visa Bans and Asset Freezes on Magnitsky Killers and Other Corrupt Officials

Press Release
Hermitage Capital

20 July 2012 – As the Magnitsky bill moves forward in the US Congress, the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission has urged the UK Foreign Secretary to take urgent steps to implement similar visa bans and asset freezes on corrupt Russian officials involved in the torture and death of 37-year whistle-blowing lawyer and in other gross human rights abuses, and to make public the names of blacklisted officials.

“In recognition of the unique position of London as a destination of choice for many senior Russian officials, the government should take action to introduce measures to publicly restrict visas and to freeze the assets of Russian officials involved in serious corruption and human rights abuses as soon as possible,” said the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission in its July 2012 Report (http://www.conservativehumanrights.com/pdf/CHRC_Violations_against_Professionals.pdf).

The Commission has expressed its “grave concern” over the Magnitsky case and stressed that it highlights the problems faced by professionals and businesspeople in countries with “weak or non-existent concept of the rule of law, no independent judiciary and high levels of corruption.”

The Magnitsky case demonstrates that people doing business in Russia “face significant risks not only financially but also personally,” said the Commission.

Robert Buckland MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, said:

“The Commission heard first-hand about the severity of continuing corruption in Russia.  The Magnitsky case is one powerful example that people in Russia are faced with everyday, and persuaded the Commission of the need to tackle this issue directly.”

The Commissions’ recommendations followed a submission by William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital, during hearings held in the British Parliament by the Conservative Human Rights Commission last November. Sergei Magnitsky was working as an outside counsel for Hermitage Capital when he uncovered and exposed the largest tax fraud in Russian history perpetrated by Russian officials. He testified against the officials involved and was subsequently arrested by the same officials, tortured and killed in custody.

In July 2012, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission issued a report entitled “Professionals in the Firing Line: A report on violations of human rights affecting doctors, lawyers, teachers, business people and other professionals around the world,” which discusses the Magnitsky case and its implications for the UK foreign policy.

The Commission points out that UK has become one the most favored destinations for Russian officials and is calling on the British government to hold Russia accountable to its international obligations under its membership in prestigious international organisations.

“The Commission urges the British government to emphasise that Russia’s membership of European and global organisations such as the Council of Europe, OSCE and World Trade Organisation carries with it the responsibility to operate according to international rules,” points out the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission in its July 2012 Report.

Last week, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly representing parliament members from 56 countries passed with an overwhelming majority the Magnitsky Resolution calling on all OSCE member parliaments to impose visa bans and asset freezes on the Russian officials involved in the Magnitsky case (http://www.oscepa.org/news-a-media/press-releases/1025-parliamentarians-vote-for-visa-ban-bill-rule-of-law-in-russia).

“Step by step every civilized country in the world will ban the people who killed Sergei Magnitsky. There is clearly no justice to be had for Sergei Magnitsky inside Russia, so it is up to governments around the world to punish the ongoing corruption and impunity from outside of Russia,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

The Conservative Party Human Rights Commission is a body established to highlight international human rights concerns, and to inform, advise and develop the Conservative party’s foreign policy by making human rights a priority.

In its report that will be submitted to the UK Foreign Secretary, the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission has welcomed the changes in the immigration policy announced by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in April that would not permit entry to the UK to foreign human rights offenders.

“This is a hugely welcome step and mirrors the positive actions being taken at the EU level and in the US Congress,” said the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission.

The initiative of visa sanctions targeting corrupt foreign officials originated following the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year old Russian lawyer who was tortured and killed in Russian police custody. Since his death, his British employer William Browder has been campaigning around the world to create consequences for those Russian officials involved in the death of Mr Magnitsky and the $230 million corruption he had uncovered, and who in spite of the incriminating evidence, continue to enjoy impunity and state protection in Russia.

 

For further information please contact:

Hermitage Capital
Phone:            +44 207 440 17 77
E-mail:            info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Website:         http://lawandorderinrussia.org
Facebook:       http://on.fb.me/hvIuVI
Twitter:            @KatieFisher__
Livejournal:      http://hermitagecap.livejournal.com/

Syrian Revolution Digest – Saturday 21 July 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

The Ramadan of Our Discontent!

 

Ramadan has begun on an inauspicious note for Assad and family, but rather than soften, their stances might harden even more, paving the way for more and deadlier massacres. Another Red Ramadan is upon us.   

 

Friday July 20, 2012

 

Today’s Death toll: 215. The Breakdown: 55 in Damascus Suburbs, 28 in Aleppo, 28 in Idlib, 26 in Damascus City, 25 in Homs, 23 in Deir Ezzor, 20 in Daraa, 7 in Hama, 2 in Lattakia and 1 Sweida.

 

Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiyah, Haran Al-Awameed, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Modan, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh (Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Maarabah, Bostra Al-Sham (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Maar’at Al-Nouman, Sraqib (Idlib)

 

News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Op-Eds & Special Reports

 

The Syrian Army Strikes Back: Eyewitness to Assad’s Retaliation on a Rebel Town Saraqeb rejoiced when the heart of the regime was struck. Then the President’s soldiers hit back

 

Syria’s Next Act With the rebels moving deeper into Damascus, and the regime’s days appearing numbered, the CIA is racing to find Syria’s chemical and biological weapons before it’s too late.

 

Syria’s Alawite Refuge “It’s true that there aren’t the right ingredients for a state, but the Syrian coast is basically the center of gravity for the sect,” he says. “If the war continues in Syria, I’ll be among the supporters of separation. There is enough blood.”

 

Syria opposition has power struggles of its own As rebels risk their lives for a new government, some feel overshadowed by exiled dissidents, who the fighters say are out of touch with the real revolution.

 

The U.S. must help Syria Washington should work quickly in cooperation with our European allies to establish confidence and credibility in a national leader who is committed to democratic governance. We should put our shared diplomatic muscle behind credible parties with serious political and economic plans…

 

 

David Enders, special correspondent for McClatchy, based in Beirut, Lebanon, FDD fellows Ammar Abdulhamid, Syrian human rights and democracy activist and director of the Tharwa Foundation; John Hannah, former national security advisor to Vice President Cheney; and Reuel Marc Gerecht, former Iran analyst at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations.

 

General Highlights

 

Armed resistance groups in Northern Aleppo Province get unified under one command and one name, Al-Tawhid Brigade, then proceed to hold this impressive show of strength (July 18) http://youtu.be/v4F6dbRAO3k Northern Aleppo Province has now fallen almost completely under the control of the resistance. But the resistance cannot fend off against missiles and mortar rounds.

 

Local resistance groups in the town of Elbab, Aleppo Province, storm the local security headquarters: the slain we see here are pro-Assad militias (July 19)http://youtu.be/cNjWyjZsch8

 

While eyes are focused on Damascus City, many important developments have been taken place in Aleppo City, where larger rallies have taken place and the loyalties of many neighborhoods seem to have completely shifted to the protest movement. The showdown in Salaheddine Neighborhood on Friday underscores this. The story started with a rally as usualhttp://youtu.be/Lk1jvrQAI1A , http://youtu.be/sTJ7wcRPvPY ,http://youtu.be/60kFCqeoDhY , http://youtu.be/XHVG_mBc_XE and ended with clashes between local resistance units and pro-Assad militiashttp://youtu.be/D8XH5EVwX7c Culminating with the introduction in the neighborhoods for the first time http://youtu.be/pqQB5giTmdg And local Imams inviting their congregations to join the “Jihad” against Assad during their Friday sermons http://youtu.be/HUGUxGYYDuk Some of today’s martyrshttp://youtu.be/qyunV-aNG6g , http://youtu.be/4tPHlCwDV2U ,http://youtu.be/7jB_k_1qngo Protesters in Shaar Neighborhood also came under fire http://youtu.be/b1ZCn4ScNLE

 

Volunteers pour in the scores to Midan District to join the local resistance (July 19) http://youtu.be/Y7c0hyDX1qE In this interview with the local commander of the resistance in Midan, he claims that he commands over 4,000 troopshttp://youtu.be/GIMQGlThRdY But tanks lay siege to the neighborhoodhttp://youtu.be/jmgbk3bONJo And they begin poundinghttp://youtu.be/Aw98Sd72sWM , http://youtu.be/JNZM1sNrDYg ,http://youtu.be/0WIkCK0_aTA Many fighters were forced to withdraw, but many remain trapped inside.

 

Resistance units from Daraa heads towards Damascus Cityhttp://youtu.be/IB6xJ5_uFNk

 

In Homs City, protesters in Al-Malaab sang a traditional Damascene song in honor and support of their Damascene colleagues currently under pounding by pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/9dYbqxlCDQM

 

Damascus Highlights

 

Black Smoke rises over Damascus City http://youtu.be/7mFZZdWSA48 And over parts of the Mazzeh Neighborhood, one of the plushest Districts in Damascus where many embassies are located http://youtu.be/wPd-oZQ7LMI

 

But it was the neighborhood of Sit Zainab that seems to have received the bulk of pounding today http://youtu.be/Uu_sWobAz1E , http://youtu.be/5B5gjuRhleI ,http://youtu.be/fLnBo66_i5E , http://youtu.be/aJVve1MyDmY The pounding was done mostly by helicopter gunships http://youtu.be/1i3RkplngBI Pulling the wounded and the dead from under the rubble http://youtu.be/nDa5XyhAoaA ,http://youtu.be/rOasidZFCIg

 

Protesters in Khalid Bin Al-Walid Street hold a rally near the local police stationhttp://youtu.be/mFqxuscm07A  They soon come under heavy gunfirehttp://youtu.be/cD8n12q_bnw Many were killed and injured, here we see two bodies lying in the street http://youtu.be/qQ_XnEKnkcw This is another take of the rally and the shooting http://youtu.be/0st1oXDvw3A ,http://youtu.be/2Uo8dChRO64 Local activists report that the wounded who were taking to the nearby hospital of Al-Mojtahed were soon arrested by loyalist security officers and transported to an unknown location. The bodies of the martyrs were also taken. Many doctors were arrested for providing medical assistance to the injured. Some of the Martyrs http://youtu.be/w68W-HRC4XI ,http://youtu.be/yth9B2HVD50 , http://youtu.be/1GL4chxms6c A child among the dead http://youtu.be/2NvQW7Eo8hk

 

Treating the wounded in Barzeh http://youtu.be/l5GDYTBdDXM Taking over the local police station in Tadamon (July 19) http://youtu.be/cjXSODQivnU

 

 

Boyadah and other Damascene suburb were subjected to pounding by helicopter gunships http://youtu.be/gZfdJcNeNd4

 

The town of Dmeir, the pounding claimed many dead: a dead lies in amidst the rubble in the aftermath of an attack http://youtu.be/5z0Ji0vzD8E The martyrs of today’s pounding http://youtu.be/dZEueI6LDLs

 

In Harran Al-Awameed, Eastern Ghoutah, local inhabitants found bodies belonging to people who seem to have been tortured and burnt alive by pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/TOJSyPVXN28 IN Arbeen many were killed in today’s pounding as well http://youtu.be/YVVL10U9tQU

 

Other Highlights

 

The pounding in Tafas, Daraa Province, leaves many children deadhttp://youtu.be/mLGvHqEmJQ0 , http://youtu.be/k4_uifq7UZM ,http://youtu.be/MhhAwYu91g8 The mass funeral http://youtu.be/xeWSpEr0dzM

 

The pounding in Rastan, Homs Province, leaves many dead and woundedhttp://youtu.be/P_lWvECCCl0 , http://youtu.be/M7in0FnTXxs

 

The pounding of Albou Kamal claims a heavy toll http://youtu.be/uk7udUZFvuo

 

The sounds of pounding of Jabal Al-Akrad, Lattakia Province http://youtu.be/pf-yif6FGwM

 

Protesters in Tabaqa City, Raqqah Province, came under fire http://youtu.be/-qBLqBhQNYI

 

Human Rights Watch Tells Malta to Stop Detaining Unaccompanied Children

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

VALLETA, Malta – Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling for the government of Malta to stop their practice of detaining unaccompanied migrant children.

Migrants being transferred from a Maltese rescue boat. (Photo courtesy of Ben Borg Cardona/AFP/Getty Images)

Malta has a policy of mandatory detention for migrants who arrive by sea, resulting in prolonged detention of unaccompanied children and other abuses of migrants’ rights.

“Malta’s automatic, indiscriminate, and blanket detention of migrants – including unaccompanied migrant children – is inhumane and unnecessary,” said Alice Farmer, researcher in the Children’s Rights Division at HRW. “It doesn’t deter migrants from coming to Malta and it violates international law.”

Asylum seekers can be detained for up to 12 months and migrants not seeking asylum can be detained for 18 months. Malta has a policy of mandatory detention for any “prohibited immigrant,” including anyone arriving without “right of entry.”

Malta routinely detains unaccompanied migrant children who are often fleeing violence in their home countries, like Somalia and Eritrea. The children undergo an age determination process, a lengthy procedure that often takes months. They are detained as long as they look older than 12 or 14, and are held until they determine their age.

The children are assessed and if they are deemed to be under 18 they are released into group homes. While children who arrive with their families are automatically moved to group homes.

HRW interviewed 88 migrant and asylum seekers between February and May of this year. The average detention time for age determination was 3.4 months. The Maltese government has detained children as young as 12 in adult facilities, according to the HRW report.

“Malta should treat migrants who claim to be under age 18 as children until proven otherwise, and never detain them,” said Alice Farmer. “The fact that unaccompanied children, who have made long and dangerous trips without their parents or other caregivers, are locked up until they can prove they are children, demonstrates the brutality of the detention policy.”

HRW urges the Maltese government to treat those who claim to be children as such pending the outcome of age determination proceedings, and not detain them while their ages are assessed, bring their detention policies in line with the standards of the Council of Europe, and to limit detention of migrants to exceptional circumstances.

The Maltese government maintains that detention protects migrants from abuse, exploitation and getting lost in the country.

For further information, please see:

DI-VE — Beyond Burden Sharing on Irregular Migrants – 19 July 2012

The Epoch Times — Malta: An Accidental Destination For Many Migrants – 19 July 2012

The Malta Independent– Human Rights Watch – ‘Stop detaining children’ –19 July 2012