UN says children being tortured and mutilated by Syrian security forces

2011-11-25 23:08:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

GENEVA (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations Committee Against Torture on Friday said it has received credible reports from sources that children are being tortured by security forces in Syria where an uprising continues despite a bloody crackdown.

Claudio Grossman, who heads the 10-member expert panel, said it has reviewed 'numerous, consistent and substantiated' reports and information about widespread rights violations in the country. "Among them are cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees; rife or systematic attacks against civilian population, including the killing of peaceful demonstrators and the use of excessive of force against them; and the persecutions of human rights defenders and activists," he said.

Grossman said the reports about children being tortured and mutilated while in detention are of particular concern, but gave no specific details to substantiate the claims. He said the Committee is also concerned about reported cases of of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; arbitrary detention by police forces and the military; and enforced and involuntary disappearances.

"These generalized abuses are allegedly conducted under direct orders from public authorities, at their instigation or with their consent or acquiescence," Grossman said. The Committee is the body which monitors the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which has been ratified by 149 states, including Syria.

Pro-democracy demonstrations have spread across the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown which has left more than 3,500 people killed, including some 200 children. The Syrian government has claimed violent acts against protesters have been carried out by 'terrorists dressed as soldiers,' although international observers have rejected these claims.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-11-25

Ok, it's been long established that the usual suspects care not one iota about goings on in Syria, however I suspect from the newsflow that the regime is going to be removed by force, which is complicated by the opposition of both Iran and Russia.

One inflammatory post removed. Keep your remarks to the topic of the OP; not to other posters.

As often happens, those that shout the loudest about morality (immans, priests, politicians, etc) are often those that are the most immoral.