Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
May 6 2022
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) warns that the so-called amnesty the Assad regime has recently issued is a mere publicity gimmick that aims to cover up the Tadamon Massacre which has recently been revealed by the Guardian newspaper. In this regard, the SOC stresses:
First: The number of detainees released under this so-called amnesty did not exceed 200 people, according to human rights organizations. There are still tens of thousands of detainees in the regime’s prisons and whose fate is still unknown. The Syrian Network for Human Rights has so far compiled a list of the names of more than 132,000 people who have been detained by the Assad regime since March 2011.
Second: The SOC stresses that detainees in the regime’s prisons are subjected to the most severe methods of physical and psychological torture. Amnesty International previously described Sednaya Prison as a “human slaughterhouse” and that it is “the worst place on earth” where mass executions and systematic extermination of detainees are taking place. Moreover, the Caesar photos showed tens of thousands of detainees who were killed under torture, the horror of which should not be erased from the minds of humanity.
Third: Heart-wrenching scenes are now coming from Damascus of thousands of Syrian families desperately asking the released detainees about some clues as to the whereabouts of their loved ones and to know whether they are alive or dead. Many of the released suffer memory loss, physical disability or chronic disease, which reflects the horrors they have been subjected to at the hands of the brutal Assad regime.
Fourth: The SOC points out that this sheer number of crimes that the Assad regime is committing against the Syrian people, and the detainees in particular, render all the countries that support this regime or try to restore relations with it partners in the crimes against the Syrian people. These countries show utter disregard to the tremendous sacrifices that the Syrian people are making in order for Syria to be free and independent.
The SOC calls on the United Nations to take swift action and work seriously to ensure the release of detainees, the disclosure of their fate, and an end to the ongoing carnage in Syria. It also calls for serving justice by holding the Assad regime accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that it has been committing over the past several years, and achieve a political transition in Syria in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2254.
