On The Way To Work, A Trip To Death - The SJAC Weekly Update

On the way to work, a trip to death- The SJAC Weekly Update
3/20/14, 1:36 PM
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The SJAC Weekly Update- January 23, 2014
On the way to work, a trip to death.
Transitional Justice: A Handbook for Journalists, Citizens, and Activists
As in most conicts zones, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) has been prevalent in the current Syrian context. A December 2013 Amnesty International memo, for example, reports most of the Syrian women refugees [Amnesty International] has spoken to in refugee camps said that their main reason for leaving Syria was fear of rape and sexual assault. Rape and other forms of SGBVtoo often instruments of warhave a tendency to take root in post-conict settings as well. Consequently,
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transitional justice e!orts must address not only past crimes but also the environmental factors enabling these crimes to persist in post-conict areas. The American Bar Associations Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) held a conference discussing the role of transitional justice in the context of broader justice processes and highlighting the unique challenges associated with addressing SGBV. Speakers at the conference o!ered constructive insights. In most cases around the world, rape victims remain silent, reported Paulina Rudnicka, Senior Legal Analyst at ABA ROLI. This challenge resonates in the context of Syria, where women and girls may be fearful of divulging instances of rape or assault for fear of jeopardizing their reputations and/or marriage prospects. Rudnika further emphasized the importance of establishing database systems to help understand the prevalence of SGBV. Given the likelihood of underreporting SGBV, however, data collectors must be creative in establishing safe methods for reporting and data analysts must acknowledge the potential gaps in data collected. Speakers also discussed the prevalence of SGBV in post-conict settings, and the need to fully engage men and boys in e!orts to address these issues. Joseph Vess, a Senior Program O"cer at Promundo (a Brazil-based human rights organization), explains that high rates of trauma in post-conict situations increase the likelihood that they [men] will lash out and use violence against other people and, consequently, increases the vulnerability of women and girls. Transitional justice processes allow
This is a SJAC-commissioned report, researched and produced by Charney Research.
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individuals the opportunity to deal with the past and address the trauma that they faced in a constructive, fullling manner and, as such, can be considered a vital, proactive step towards reducing SGBV in postconict settings. In addition, Vess emphasized that SGBV does not occur in a vacuum. E!orts to address SGBV issues must consider the social contexts in which they operate, and ought to target men and boys in addition to women and girls. Too often, SGBV is conceptualized as something done by men to women; this is problematic because it ignores the contexts driving men to use violence, and because it minimizes the experiences of male victims of SGBV. Speakers also stressed the need for local awareness of transitional justice options, victims ownership of transitional justice processes, and the potential for successful justice e!orts to deter future crimes, including SGBV. Cindy Dyer, Vice President of Vital Voices Global Partnership (a womens empowerment NGO), explained we often know a best practice, but they [people on the ground] know how to best implement it. Conict and post-conict settings alike must grapple with SGBV. Transitional justice e!orts, when employed carefully, can serve as a tool to stem the use of SGBV after a conict. Justice for victims of SGBV, however, will be most successful when people are mindful of the unique challenges associated with SGBV reporting, contexts, and programming.
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(Image based upon descriptions of torture. Source: Violations Documentation Center in Syria)
The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre documents and collects data from many di!erent sources. This data includes, for example, instances of government forces arrests and abductions of Syrian citizens to extort money. SJAC hopes to highlight some of these cases in order to acknowledge their systematic nature, to give readers a better understanding of some of the centres work, and to encourage other victims to testifya process which is critical to any future justice and accountability processes in Syria. This is the testimony of a former Syrian detainee at one of the Intelligence branches, who was kidnapped at a Syrian government checkpoint in Qatifa, Damascus. The prisoner discusses his abduction, the
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means by which he was tortured, his observations during his detention, and how he was released. A.T. is 26 years old. He has Syrian citizenship and works in Lebanon. He was heading to Damascus, heading from there to Beirut when the bus he was travelling in was intercepted by security at a checkpoint in Qatifa, Damascus. AT recalls: [Authorities] stopped the bus, took passengers identity cards, and, a half hour later, asked me to get o! the bus. Then, they took my things and forced me to press my thumb on a paper; I did not know the [papers] content, except a word I read at the top of the page: terrorist. Next, A.T. was transferred to prison in Homs and then transferred to the Mezzeh airport. He recalls this period: They asked me about my brothers, my father, and the ghters and my relationship with them. I answered that it had nothing to do with me [the ghters had no relationship to me], because I work in Lebanon, and do not know what is going on in Syria. After being tortured and lashed by an electric cable on my skin, I told them that my brothers and my father were ghters. Then they took me inside a room, about 3X3 meters, and in it were four detainees. They repeatedly interrogated metwo or three times a day with the same degree of torture. After each interrogation, they took me to a di!erent room with di!erent detainees. This continued for four days. Then they transferred me to Almantiqu Intelligence
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branch in Mezzeh. Almantiqu Intelligence branch in Mezzeh is one of the places in Syria where detainees are subject to the most torture. The place is best known for the high number of dead bodies that come out of it in a day. A.T. says of his detention here: They put me in a 4X5 meter room, crammed with about 100 detainees, all completely naked. There, security agents beat detainees with hoses and sticks, deliberately causing head injury. Among those detained were children around 12 or 13 years old and many seniors around 60-70 years old. Concerning disease outbreaks among the detainees, A.T. reports: In Almantiqu Intelligence branch prison, strange disease symptoms appeareddetainees would get blisters on their skin, which then burrowed into their bones and began to emit pus. After 10-15 days, the patient would die. There were detainees who were there for more than two years. [Dead] bodies of detainees accumulated among us and remained for several days[the security forces] waited until there were 10 bodies or more so they could remove them all at once. A.T. recalls torture in Almantiqu Intelligence branch: They interrogated me there and told me, under torture, what I was expected to admit. I was electrocuted and beaten with sticks; [they] used tools of torture whose names I do not know. They tied my hands behind my back, ipped me facedown, put a chair between my body and arms, and then ipped
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me again until my head dropped to my feet. And then they restricted my breathing severely and asked me if I recognized what they told me. Then they sprinkled water on me and beat me with electric sticks. And when I admitted to whatever they wanted, they pressed my thumb (ngerprint) on a piece of paper while I was blindfolded. After the interrogation ended, A.T. was sent to a military security branch where he stayed for around 45 days. A.T. says of this period: I was exposed to less torture in the military security branch. They hit me in the beginning, and then put me in a room with other detainees, where we had to urinate and defecate, because there was no possibility of leaving the room to go to the toilet. I spent 15 days there, and then they put me in solitary connement after making me (again) press my thumb on a new confession stating that I am a deserter from compulsory military service. A 30-year-old prison guard there told me they would not beat me anymore, but it was unclear when my trial would be. He also said that my le needed some support and he can do that for me for 300 thousand Syrian Pounds [approximately 2,000 USD]. When I approved he allowed me to contact my brother in Lebanon and ask him to transfer the amount to the company Pyramid Exchange in Damascus. The next day he took me to the companys o"ce and they received the payment. He then took me to a new, clean room. The next morning, I was transferred to the Court of Terrorism in the Justice Palace in
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Damascus, where I was released and given all of my belongings that were with me when I was arrested. International human rights law prohibits kidnapping and torture in ordinary times as well as during times of violent conict. The above account draws attention to the relationship between the citizen and the judiciary. Transitional justice relies upon citizens condence in their judiciaries. In Syria, judicial institutions must undergo meaningful reform to gain the trust of citizens, which, in turn, can pave the way for transitional justice e!orts.
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The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) is a non-profit, multilaterally-supported organization that envisions a Syria where people live in a state defined by justice, respect for human rights and rule of law. The SJAC is collecting, preserving and analyzing information on human rights violations and other relevant data to contribute to and inform a transitional justice process for Syria. Employing an unbiased and non-partisan approach, the SJAC also builds and maintains close relationships and partnerships with Syrian individuals, organizations, communities and international actors working towards justice and accountability for all Syrians.
Our mailing address is: email@syriaaccountability.org unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Copyright 2013 Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, All rights reserved.
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On The Way To Work, A Trip To Death - The SJAC Weekly Update

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On the way to work, a trip to death- The SJAC Weekly Update

The SJAC Weekly Update- January 23, 2014