Tens of thousands of Syrians on Friday took to the streets of towns and villages in northern Syria to demand the release of detainees in the prisons of the Assad regime and the disclosure of the fate of thousands of the forcibly disappeared persons. The mass demonstrations were held under the title “set the detainees free!”
Demonstrations took place in many towns and villages across northern Syria. Demonstrators raised the flag of the Syrian revolution and chanted slogans calling for the release of detainees and for bringing Assad to justice for the heinous crimes his regime is committing against detainees.
President of the Syrian Coalition Abdurrahman Mustafa pointed out that the mass demonstrations reaffirmed the Syrian people’s demands for the release of detainees. “It is the duty of the international community and friendly countries to take action to save the lives of tens of thousands of young men, women, the elderly and children in the prions of the Assad regime.”
Mustafa stressed that saving the lives of detainees is the duty of the United Nations, adding that it is imperative to “address the tragic conditions in the detention facilities of the Assad regime with some sense of human responsibility. A bold decision needs to be taken to refer war crimes in Syria to the International Criminal Court.”
Activists published photos of protestors holding photos of detainees in the prisons of the Assad regime and the ISIS extremist group, most notably doctor Mohammed Arab, Tal Al-Mallouhi, and activist Abdel Wahab Al-Malla.
Demonstrations also took place in rural Aleppo and rurla Hama, with participants calling for the overthrow of the Assad regime and the disclosure of the fate of detainees held by the Assad regime.
The Syrian Coalition gives the issue of detainees a top priority as they are the victim of the most heinous war crimes the Assad regime is committing. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said it had complied a list of the names of 118,000 detainees in Syria, 88 percent of whom are held in the Assad regime’s detention facilities. Other human rights organizations gave a much higher estimate, especially as there are tens of thousands of forcibly disappeared persons.
Former detainees spoke of brutal methods of torture taking place inside the prisons of the Assad regime. Photos which were leaked by defecting military photographer code-named Caesar revealed some of the atrocities taking place in the prisons of the Assad regime. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
