Amnesty: Syria detainees face systematic torture

Based on interviews in Jordan with dozens of Syrians who have fled the country, the report details "31 methods of torture or other ill treatment" at the hands of the security forces, army and pro-government armed gangs.

This Thursday marks a year since unrest first broke out, prompting a bloody crackdown and massive wave of arrests by the Syrian authorities.

The government says it is battling "armed terrorist groups" but international leaders and rights groups dispute that.

The torture meted out to those arrested on suspicion of opposing the government has generally followed a set pattern, says the Amnesty International report, titled "'I wanted to die': Syria's torture survivors speak out."

Many detainees say they were beaten on arrest, and then subjected to severe beatings on arrival at detention centers.

But their accounts show the greatest risk of abuse came when they were interrogated, the report says.

Several detainees describe being forced into a vehicle tire and then beaten with cables or sticks, the report says. Others tell of being suspended above the ground by their wrists and then beaten, and of being forced to strip naked, often for long periods in extreme cold.

An 18-year-old victim named as "Karim" told researchers that his interrogators used pincers to gouge flesh from his legs while he was held for 25 days in Daraa in December.

Another man, a 29-year-old Arabic language teacher identified as "Musleh," also described horrific treatment while being held in Daraa. "We were hung from wood -- crucified -- while blindfolded and handcuffed, and then beaten mercilessly and repeatedly between 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.," he told the Amnesty researchers.

Detainees also were forced to witness abuse and hear others -- sometimes relatives or friends -- being tortured and raped, the report says.

Full version