A/HRC/22/59
21.
One interviewee, detained with four others in Air Force Intelligence in Latakia,
stated that all were beaten and one of those with whom he was arrested later in custody.
Some detainees died in suspicious circumstances while in the custody of the intelligence
agencies. One interviewee — whose two cousins were arrested in late October during a
house search in a Damascus neighbourhood — was told by the Military Police that they had
died as a result of “suffocating” while in detention.
22.
The commission recorded the torture of children as well as the detention of those
under 18 years in the same cells as adult detainees (see A/HRC/22/59, annex X). Children
were also subjected to the conditions of detentions described below.
23.
Five of those interviewed had been moved among multiple detention facilities.
Where there had been multiple transfers, interviewees stated that they had suffered physical
violence in each location.
24.
One such interviewee was arrested and beaten at a checkpoint in Latakia
governorate in late August before being taken to Military Security in Latakia. During a two
month detention, the interviewee was transferred between Military Security Branches in
Latakia, Homs and Damascus. In all three locations, he underwent multiple interrogations
during which he was hung from the ceiling by his arms and beaten with electrical wire; put
in a car tire and beaten; hit about the face, causing the breaking of teeth; and denied food
and water for days at a time. In Latakia, he observed other detainees in his cell with marks
on their bodies from beating. While held in one of the Military Security Branches in
Damascus, he stated that he saw bodies of eleven other detainees as he was taken in for
interrogation. Another interviewee, held for a month at the Military Security Branch in
Latakia, stated he had also been beaten and given electric shocks while being interrogated
by military security officers.
25.
Several forms of torture and other forms of ill-treatment meted out to detainees did
not result in physical evidence. Two interviewees stated that they had been forced to strip
and remain naked for prolonged periods. One was threatened with sexual assault.
B.
Reports of torture and other forms of ill-treatment taking place in
unofficial detention centres
26.
Five interviewees reported being held in unofficial detention centres. In late
December, one interviewee, a 14 year old girl, was abducted by four men, two of whom
were in uniform, and held a building in Idlib by people she described as “Shiites from her
neighbourhood”. She was interrogated about her mother’s work with the FSA. Her
treatment — which included her being raped — is detailed in document A/HRC/22/59,
annex IX. She described being beaten, burnt with cigarettes and injected with an unknown
substance. In interview, her doctor stated that she had injuries highly consistent with her
account.
27.
One interviewee was stopped while driving in Homs city in mid-July by Shabbiha
who he said were “Alawites from the Zahra neighbourhood�� of the city. He stated he was
taken to a building where there were 12–15 other captives, including an 8 year old boy. He
was given electric shocks and the Shabbiha attempted to blind him with a screwdriver. He
lost the use of sight in his right eye. At the time of interview, the damage to his left eye, as
a result of untreated infection, was apparent.
28.
In August, two interviewees reported their or their family members being stopped
while driving in Latakia governorate. One stated that he had been stopped by soldiers who
accused him of supplying the anti-Government armed groups with fuel. He described being
taken, blindfolded, to a school where he was beaten for several hours before his transfer to
70
GE.13-10627
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