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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Human rights decline in Syria

Susan Sevareid Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt — Human rights in Syria are deteriorating under arbitrary arrests, a crackdown on minority Kurds and systematic torture, according to a London-based rights group’s annual report released Sunday.

The report accused Syrian authorities of ignoring the constitution and international conventions on torture, saying methods used include beatings with bats, whips and cables, electrocution, rape threats and sleep deprivation.

The Syrian government has “failed to take an earnest step toward the long-awaited pledge to implement reforms,” said the report of the Syrian Committee for Human Rights, a group of Syrian dissidents based in London.

Overall, the situation for the period of July 1, 2003, through June 20, 2004, tended toward “further deterioration,” the report said.

“This year, we had recurrent news of severe and systematic torture practiced by the security authorities,” it said.

A senior Information Ministry official, Ahmad Haj Ali, defended the government’s reform efforts.

“We should not say there is deterioration,” he said, adding that President Bashar Assad is leading the way with reforms and a dialogue is needed “within the boundaries of the homeland and for its interest.”

The head of the Human Rights Association in Syria concurred with the committee’s conclusion. “Regretfully, human rights in Syria have remarkably and clearly deteriorated,” said Haitham Maleh, who is based in Damascus.

The report singled out the actions of Syrian security forces against Kurdish rioters during clashes in March in which 25 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

“Security forces and party militias dealt with the Kurdish citizens with the policy of the thick staff and oppression,” the report said.

The March clashes began with a deadly stampede and brawling among supporters of rival Arab and Kurdish soccer teams before a match in the northern town of Qamishli. The next day, Kurds rioted during a funeral for victims and the violence spread.

The report noted the official death toll of 25 Kurds, but cited unidentified Kurdish sources as saying more than 100 people were killed, hundreds were injured and about 6,000 were arrested. It said 400 to 500 Kurds remain in detention, including many who have not been charged.

Most Kurds — about 1.5 million of Syria’s 18.5 million people — carry Syrian citizenship, but they long have complained of discrimination.

“While the authorities persist in depriving them of many of their natural and cultural rights … the Kurds increasingly adhere to and demand these rights, and the authorities get more aggressive and repressive against them,” the report said.

On Sunday, Syria’s State Security Court sentenced seven Kurdish activists to five years in prison on charges of belonging to an illegal organization and working for separatism, HRAS said. The sentences for three of the Kurds were commuted to two years in prison while sentences for the remaining four were commuted to only one year imprisonment. The four were released for having completed their sentence.

The seven were arrested a year ago for participating in a peaceful demonstration for Kurdish rights.

The report cited the testimony of “informed sources” and unspecified reports in identifying seven detainees it said had died of torture or “health negligence.”

Khalil Mustafa bin Muhammad Sharif, a Syrian Kurd arrested for unknown reasons, died after two days of torture and his body was mutilated, the report alleged. Relatives, a judge and doctors were not allowed to see the body of another detainee, identified as Firas Mahmud Abdullah, who died in January after being tortured in custody in Latakia, it alleged.

Haj Ali denied anyone had ever died of torture in a Syrian prison, adding “the climate is now open and the activity of cooperation is needed in the country.”

Since taking office in July 2000, Assad has released hundreds of political prisoners and passed laws aimed at liberalizing the state-controlled economy. But he also clamped down on pro-democracy activists, showing there are limits to the dissent his administration is willing to tolerate.