From: elie@hdtv.njit.edu (...NADINE...)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.lebanon
Subject: Syria the beautiful. (How about a vacation guys ?)
Date: 22 Jul 92 17:53:17 GMT
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.


	LONDON (UPI) -- Thousands of prisoners in Syrian prisons are tortured
and deprived of contact with the outside world and some die because of
harsh conditions, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
	The London-based human rights group said in report that despite the
recent release of 2,000 prisoners, there does not appear to be a new era
for justice in Syria.
	The international human rights group said the continued detention of
political prisoners under severe conditions and without trial proves
that human rights have not become a priority in Syria.
	Some of the 2,000 prisoners released around the turn of the year had
been held for more than 20 years, the group said, and several had been
held for years without knowing why they had been arrested. Many said
they had been tortured while in detention, and many reported being held
incognito for up to several years.
	The group said most detainees were never brought before a judge or
offered the opportunity to challenge the lawfulness of their detention
before a court of law.
	``Some have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment by courts whose
procedures fail to satisfy international standards for fair trial, such
as those guaranteeing the right of defense and appeal,'' Amnesty said,
and others are still held being after their sentences expired.
	Some prisoners suffered long-term illnesses as a result of torture,
and dozens died in custody as a result of harsh prison conditions and
torture, the group said.
	The prisoner release did ended human rights violations in the
country, which is a member of the United Nations and the Arab League,
Amnesty said.
	``Even as the announced releases were taking place in late 1991 and
1992, hundreds of other political suspects and human rights activists
were being arrested; several of them remain in prison, some without
charge or trial,'' the report said.
	``In addition, thousands of long-term political prisoners are still
locked up in Syrian jails, including many prisoners of conscience
detained solely for peacefully expressing their opposition to the
government of President Hafez Assad.''
	The freed prisoners had been held under 1963 state of emergency
legislation which allows for the indefinite detention without charge or
trial of anyone suspected of ``endangering security and public order.''
	The group said no action has been taken by Syrian authorities to
reform the legislation and practices allowing the human rights
violations of the past and present.
	Almost 3,500 prisoners were reported released from Syrian jails
following two presidential amnesties announced in December 1991 and
March 1992, but Amnesty International could only confirm the actual
release of around 2,000.
	``No information has been received that the remainder have been
freed, and requests by Amnesty International for full details of all
releases have not been answered,'' the report said.
	``The presidential pardons granted in the last seven months do not
redeem the country's record on human rights,'' the group said.
	Among those imprisoned were human rights activists, former government
officials, members of professional associations and suspected political
opponents of the present government.
	Most were arrested on the basis of their connection with prohibited
political organizations such as the Party for Communist Action, the
Communist Party Political Bureau, the Arab Socialist Democratic Ba'ath
Party, the Arab Socialist Union Party in Syria, and the Muslim
Brotherhood.
	Syria is not a state party to the United Nations Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Amnesty said, although in March 1986 a Syrian representative announced
his government's intention to accede to the convention before the 42nd
U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
	Although torture was banned under the Syrian constitution and under
the country's penal code was punishable by imprisonment, its use by
various Syrian agencies continued to be widespread and routine, both as
a means of extracting information about political suspects and as a form
of punishment, the group said.