Intelligence forces arrest juveniles

The Syrian authorities have been committing serious crimes against children under emergency laws, and subjecting them to oppressive practices which failed to distinguish between adult and child. Security and Intelligence forces randomly and belligerently arrested children and the under-aged from 13 to 18 years old, throughout the period between 1980 and 1983. These youngsters were subject to the most brutal forms of torture and persecution, hence breaching all international charters and laws which secured the rights of children and childhood.

Numbers of arrested juveniles

The number of political juvenile prisoners during the period aforementioned almost 600 child and juvenile (according to Syrian law, juveniles are the under 18 year olds).

Reasons for arrests  

These detentions occurred throughout Syrian provinces and cities, following the Syrian regime’s decision to uproot the religious trend within Syrian society. This resulted in widespread arrests of children who frequented mosques and attended Quranic study circles therein.

Children held as hostages in exchange for relatives

The authorities also arrested many children as hostages in exchange for their wanted parents or relatives, and were kept in detention even after their wanted relatives surrendered themselves.

Raiding houses and schools seeking detentions

Children and juveniles used to be arrested from their schools, where special intelligence units would surround the school and unit personnel would raid it dragging students from their classrooms.

These units used to always fire rounds into the air in order create havoc and fear for teachers as well as students, so that they are unobstructed during the arrests.

Children were also taken away from their parents’ homes after midnight, where special forces units would surround the house where its occupants would be sleeping peacefully and raid it dragging away a child or more. It has been often reported that the special units themselves would be surprised as to the young age of the person they were sent to arrest.

Children subject to fatal torture

Children and juveniles were subject to various forms of torture in all branches and centres run by the military intelligence and state security forces. This included solitary confinement, electrocution of sensitive parts of their bodies, whipping with rubber whips and metal chains all over the bodies, as well as the infamous ‘wheel’ and ‘flying carpet’ methods of torture. All young detainees were subject to physical abuse during the process of torture.

It is also worth mentioning that several juvenile detainees were killed during torture in a number of Intelligence branches. It is known that Ghazi Kan’an, who was serving as head of the Military Intelligence in Homs, killed a number of juveniles whom had been arrested from Hama in 1982. Reports confirm that Kan’an carried out the tortures Homself. These are considered crimes against humanity, and the person in question remains in a prominent position at the helm of the political security branch in Syria.

Children were not excluded from spending time in Palmyra (Tadmur) prison

Children and juvenile detainees were often transferred to Palmyra desert prison, where they would be received with the notorious greeting celebration, which consisted of various torture sessions. These sessions would often last from morning till night, depending on the numbers being transferred, and were supervised by the then director of prison Faisal Ghanem. The Military Police would carry out the torture sessions and overlook security within the prison in accordance with orders given. Most of the members of the MP were directly connected to the regime and such torture sessions were carried out regularly.

Methods of killing children in Palmyra

Children and Juveniles were separated from the adults and spent their time in cell blocks 31, 32 and then 36 and 37. Countless children would be stacked in threes cells without any provision even for their most basic and elementary needs, including food. Children and Juveniles often suffered the most severe and brutal forms of torture. Among those who died under torture were Mohammed Idlibi from Aleppo, as a result of a game performed by the prison officers, where four stood on each of his hands and legs and a fifth jumped up and down on his chest and stomach causing him to suffer an internal haemorrhage from which he died a few hours later. This treatment was also rendered to numerous other children, whilst some where subjected to what is famously known as ‘the Parachute’, where the children were held from their hands and feet and swung in the air then thrown to the ground, where their bones would break. This would be repeated until the child would faint.

Ill-health amongst children due to deprivation and hunger

Systematic food and water-deprivation was routine exercise which resulted in many suffering from serious diseases such as tuberculosis, which was endemic throughout the prison at various stages and scabies which resulted in an outbreak of serious skin fungi and blood infections, to which they were offered no medication. Many of those imprisoned suffered memory loss, serious mental illnesses and epilepsy. Many died as a result of the poor health conditions, including for example, Muhanned Al-Wafa’i from Homs who died on 17/9/1983 in Palmyra military prison, whom the prison management were notified of his urgent need to transfer him to a hospital for treatment and surgery, but chose to ignore. Among those who died after being released a s a result of an epileptic fit was Abdul Naser Kasibi in 1998.

Children tried before Sulaiman Al-Khateeb

Field courts were held at Plamyra prison over which Major Sulaiman Al-Khateeb, from Al-Dreikiesh in Tartous, presided. All those who stood trial were subject to the most brutal forms of torture before standing. The prisoner’s thumb print would be forcefully put on an admission report previously prepared and without knowing what it contained. Adults and children were subjected to this form of treatment equally.

Children were regularly given prison terms ranging from 6 to 12 years, but many were not released even after the term had been served, and spent extensive periods of time after their sentenced term had elapsed. Many of those remain imprisoned until the time of writing this report in 2004.

And in a dangerous breach of all laws and international norms, Sulaiman Al-Khateeb issued execution sentences against a number of those children, which constitutes a gravely dangerous precedence on all levels. Among those who were executed was Mohammed Adem Sikhniya who was executed on 29/1/1983 and Ahmed Hallaj who was executed on 6/7/1985. Major Al-Khateeb would sometimes order his clerk to raise the age of those standing trial, in a well-known step before issuing execution sentences.

Visits entirely forbidden

Visits were totally and absolutely forbidden in regards with prisoners who were detained on charges relating to Islamic activities. Some left prison after serving for extensive periods up to 15 years, without ever seeing any of their parents or relatives. A few of the relatives of prisoners managed, through offering expensive bribes and gifts and jewellery to the Faisal Ghanem’s wife, to gain access to visitation rights of their imprisoned children. Needless to say that the aforementioned Ghanem, became extremely wealthy as a result of this internationally forbidden trade.

The release after 12 years in prison

Many children prisoners were between 1992 and 1995 having served sentences ranging from 12 to 15 years in prison.

Scarred for life

The effects of physical and mental torture remain prominent until this day, due to the severity, brutality and inhumanity of what they had been subject to for many years.

Remove the Emergency Laws