Syria rejects report of mass hangings as 'untrue'
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 8 February 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Syria rejects report of mass hangings as 'untrue', 8 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a50513.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
February 08, 2017
Amensty International says the Syrian government has executed thousands of prisoners in mass hangings and carried out systematic torture at the Sednaya military jail near Damascus.
Damascus has dismissed as "completely untrue" a report alleging that the government executed as many as 13,000 people at a military prison in the four years after Syria's popular uprising descended into civil war.
In a statement carried out by state media on February 8, the Justice Ministry said "misleading and inciting" media outlets carried the Amnesty International report with the intention to smear the government's reputation on the world stage.
It also said executions in Syria follow due process and various stages of litigations.
In its February 7 report, the London-based group said 20 to 50 people, many of them civilian opposition supporters, were hanged each week at the Saydnaya prison near Damascus between September 2011 and December 2015.
It said the hangings took place after military trials that lasted minutes, adding that they probably are still being carried out and amount to war crimes.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
