Crimes committed against detainees in the prisons of the Assad regime continue to be uncovered following the Assad regime’s sending of lists of the names of detainees who died under torture to the civil registry departments in Syrian provinces. The latest of these lists contained the name of Syrian writer Abdul Hadi Qashit.
The Syrian Coalition said that this a proof that the Assad regime does not distinguish between those who oppose it, whether they use weapons or pens. The regime considers anyone who criticizes or opposes as an enemy, the Coalition said.
The National Commission on Detainees and Missing Persons Yasser on Saturday called on Germany and France to form an international pressure group along with Turkey and friendly countries to urgently head to the UN Security Council in order to demand that the Assad regime release all detainees in its prisons. The Commission stressed that the Assad regime must not be allowed to commit further crimes against detainees, adding that the regime is exploiting the inaction of the international community.
Activists close to Qashit said that he had been subjected to constant harassment by Assad’s security services even before the revolution. Regime forces detained Qashit in Aleppo and nothing was heard about him ever since.
In October 2013, the Press Freedoms Committee of the Association of Syrian Journalists said that ten journalists died in the prisons of the regime. Name of Qashit appeared in a report the Association issued back then. According to local activists, Qashit was last seen in the Air Force Intelligence branch in Aleppo.
Born in Aleppo in 1967, Qashit was best known for writing short stories and essays in literary criticism. He won several prizes, including the first prize of the Arab Writers Union in Aleppo in 1998 for his story “A Letter to the Director General.” He published a series of short stories under the title “Implications for the Conscience” which was his last work before the Assad regime ended his life under torture in its detention centers.
Recent weeks have seen widespread protests in Syria and abroad condemning the war crimes being committed by the Assad regime against detainees.
The Assad regime’s issuance of death notices for detainees in its prisons has been widely reported by international media outlets. Last week, German Welt newspaper published a report on victims of torture in the regime’s prisons. It pointed out that the Assad regime is well aware that Iran and Russia will not give it up, so it will get rid of anyone who is perceived as an obstacle in its way of restoring full control of Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
