A/HRC/21/50 C. Abduction and rape of women 23. The commission received reports of women being abducted from the streets of Homs city in April 2012. One woman, whose husband was a member of an antiGovernment armed group, was reportedly abducted along with six other women (including a 14 year old girl) in early April 2012 in Karm-el-Zeytoun by ten men, dressed in black. She stated that she and other women were placed in a van and blindfolded while being transported. They were taken to a place that looked ―like a storage room‖. There she saw 20 naked women with injuries to their bodies. She and the other six women were raped while the men shouted at them, ―You want freedom, this is your freedom.‖ 24. The interviewee remained in the room with the other women and girls for ten days, during which time they were vaginally and anally raped on multiple occasions. She stated that the other women were from various neighbourhoods of Homs city, including Baba Amr, Bab Sbaa and El Khaldiyah. The women were released, allegedly, as part of a prisoner exchange between the Shabbiha and the FSA. Following her release, she was abandoned by her husband. 25. Another woman interviewed described being pulled off a bus by Shabbiha at a checkpoint in Bab Sbaa in April 2012. She and two other veiled women were reportedly detained while other, unveiled women were allowed back on the bus. She stated that she and the two other women were severely beaten before being taken to a house where there were eight other women from Al-Houla who were naked and injured. She stated that she and one other woman were ―rescued‖ by a Shabbiha who knew them. She was not aware of what happened to the third woman. D. Women forced to walk naked in the streets 26. The commission also received corroborated reports of women being forced at gunpoint to walk naked in the streets of the Karm-el-Zeytoun neighbourhood of Homs, again in February 2012. E. Legal conclusions 27. The Commission finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe rape has been perpetrated against men, women and children by members of Government forces and Shabbiha. The rape and sexual violence was committed in connection to the armed conflict and could be prosecuted as a war crime. Rape and sexual assault also formed part of torture in both official and unofficial detention centres in violation of IHRL and IHL. 28. Having previously identified the military operations in Homs city in February and March 2012 and in Al-Haffe in June 2012 as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, the commission finds that the rapes which occurred during this attack, made with knowledge of the attacks, could be prosecuted as crimes against humanity. II. Anti-Government armed groups 29. The commission has not received any reports of rape or other forms of sexual assault perpetrated by members of the anti-Government armed groups. Lack of access to the country has further complicated the investigation of alleged incidents of sexual violence by all parties to the conflict. 94