on the way to work, a trip to death- the sjac weekly update

8/12/2019 On the Way to Work, A Trip to Death- The SJAC Weekly Update

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3/20/14, 1:n the way to work, a trip to death- The SJAC Weekly Update

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transitional justice e!orts must address not only past

crimes but also the environmental factors enabling

these crimes to persist in post-conflict areas.

The American Bar Associations Rule of Law Initiative

(ABA ROLI) held a conference discussing the role of

transitional justice in the context of broader justice

processes and highlighting the unique challenges

associated with addressing SGBV. Speakers at the

conference o!ered constructive insights. In most

cases around the world, rape victims remain silent,

reported Paulina Rudnicka, Senior Legal Analyst at

ABA ROLI. This challenge resonates in the context of

Syria, where women and girls may be fearful ofdivulging instances of rape or assault for fear of

jeopardizing their reputations and/or marriage

prospects. Rudnika further emphasized the

importance of establishing database systems to help

understand the prevalence of SGBV. Given the

likelihood of underreporting SGBV, however, data

collectors must be creative in establishing safe

methods for reporting and data analysts must

acknowledge the potential gaps in data collected.

Speakers also discussed the prevalence of SGBV in

post-conflict settings, and the need to fully engage

men and boys in e!orts to address these issues.

Joseph Vess, a Senior Program O"cer at Promundo

(a Brazil-based human rights organization), explains

that high rates of trauma in post-conflict situations

increase the likelihood that they [men] will lash out

and use violence against other people and,

consequently, increases the vulnerability of women

and girls. Transitional justice processes allow

This is a SJAC-commissionedreport, researched andproduced by Charney

Research.
http://www.syriaaccountability.org/ar/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/01/SJAC_Syrian_Perceptions_January2014-2.pdfhttp://www.promundo.org.br/en/about-us/introduction/http://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/newsroom_events/rule_of_law_conference.htmlhttps://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law.html


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individuals the opportunity to deal with the past and

address the trauma that they faced in a constructive,

fulfilling manner and, as such, can be considered a

vital, proactive step towards reducing SGBV in post-

conflict settings. In addition, Vess emphasized that

SGBV does not occur in a vacuum. E!orts to

address SGBV issues must consider the social

contexts in which they operate, and ought to target

men and boys in addition to women and girls. Too

often, SGBV is conceptualized as something done by

men to women; this is problematic because it ignores

the contexts driving men to use violence, and

because it minimizes the experiences of male victimsof SGBV.

Speakers also stressed the need for local awareness

of transitional justice options, victims ownership of

transitional justice processes, and the potential for

successful justice e!orts to deter future crimes,

including SGBV. Cindy Dyer, Vice President of Vital

Voices Global Partnership (a womens empowerment

NGO), explained we often know a best practice, but

they [people on the ground] know how to best

implement it.

Conflict and post-conflict settings alike must grapple

with SGBV. Transitional justice e!orts, when

employed carefully, can serve as a tool to stem the

use of SGBV after a conflict. Justice for victims of

SGBV, however, will be most successful when people

are mindful of the unique challenges associated with

SGBV reporting, contexts, and programming.
http://www.vitalvoices.org/


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(Image based upon descriptions of torture.

Source: Violations Documentation Center in Syria)

The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre

documents and collects data from many di!erent

sources. This data includes, for example, instances of

government forces arrests and abductions of Syrian

citizens to extort money.

SJAC hopes to highlight some of these cases in

order to acknowledge their systematic nature, to give

readers a better understanding of some of the

centres work, and to encourage other victims to

testifya process which is critical to any future

justice and accountability processes in Syria.

This is the testimony of a former Syrian detainee at

one of the Intelligence branches, who was kidnapped

at a Syrian government checkpoint in Qatifa,

Damascus. The prisoner discusses his abduction, the
http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/ar/reports/1384453708#.Uyn-5_ldUR3http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/ar/reports/1384453708#.Uyn-dvldUR3


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means by which he was tortured, his observations

during his detention, and how he was released.

A.T. is 26 years old. He has Syrian citizenship and

works in Lebanon. He was heading to Damascus,

heading from there to Beirut when the bus he wastravelling in was intercepted by security at a

checkpoint in Qatifa, Damascus.

AT recalls: [Authorities] stopped the bus, took

passengers identity cards, and, a half hour later,

asked me to get o!the bus. Then, they took my

things and forced me to press my thumb on a paper;

I did not know the [papers] content, except a word I

read at the top of the page: terrorist.

Next, A.T. was transferred to prison in Homs and then

transferred to the Mezzeh airport. He recalls this

period: They asked me about my brothers, my

father, and the fighters and my relationship with them.

I answered that it had nothing to do with me [the

fighters had no relationship to me], because I work in

Lebanon, and do not know what is going on in Syria.

After being tortured and lashed by an electric cable

on my skin, I told them that my brothers and my

father were fighters. Then they took me inside a

room, about 3X3 meters, and in it were four

detainees.

They repeatedly interrogated metwo or three times

a day with the same degree of torture. After each

interrogation, they took me to a di!erent room with

di!erent detainees. This continued for four days.

Then they transferred me to Almantiqu Intelligence


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branch in Mezzeh.

Almantiqu Intelligence branch in Mezzeh is one of the

places in Syria where detainees are subject to the

most torture. The place is best known for the high

number of dead bodies that come out of it in a day.A.T. says of his detention here: They put me in a 4X5

meter room, crammed with about 100 detainees, all

completely naked. There, security agents beat

detainees with hoses and sticks, deliberately causing

head injury. Among those detained were children

around 12 or 13 years old and many seniors around

60-70 years old.

Concerning disease outbreaks among the detainees,

A.T. reports: In Almantiqu Intelligence branch prison,

strange disease symptoms appeareddetainees

would get blisters on their skin, which then burrowed

into their bones and began to emit pus. After 10-15

days, the patient would die.

There were detainees who were there for more than

two years. [Dead] bodies of detainees accumulated

among us and remained for several days[the

security forces] waited until there were 10 bodies or

more so they could remove them all at once.

A.T. recalls torture in Almantiqu Intelligence branch:

They interrogated me there and told me, under

torture, what I was expected to admit. I was

electrocuted and beaten with sticks; [they] used tools

of torture whose names I do not know. They tied my

hands behind my back, flipped me facedown, put a

chair between my body and arms, and then flipped


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me again until my head dropped to my feet. And then

they restricted my breathing severely and asked me if

I recognized what they told me. Then they sprinkled

water on me and beat me with electric sticks. And

when I admitted to whatever they wanted, they

pressed my thumb (fingerprint) on a piece of paper

while I was blindfolded.

After the interrogation ended, A.T. was sent to a

military security branch where he stayed for around

45 days. A.T. says of this period: I was exposed to

less torture in the military security branch. They hit

me in the beginning, and then put me in a room with

other detainees, where we had to urinate and

defecate, because there was no possibility of leaving

the room to go to the toilet. I spent 15 days there,

and then they put me in solitary confinement after

making me (again) press my thumb on a new

confession stating that I am a deserter from

compulsory military service.

A 30-year-old prison guard there told me they would

not beat me anymore, but it was unclear when my

trial would be. He also said that my file needed some

support and he can do that for me for 300 thousand

Syrian Pounds [approximately 2,000 USD]. When I

approved he allowed me to contact my brother in

Lebanon and ask him to transfer the amount to the

company Pyramid Exchange in Damascus. The next

day he took me to the companys o"ce and they

received the payment. He then took me to a new,

clean room. The next morning, I was transferred to

the Court of Terrorism in the Justice Palace in


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Damascus, where I was released and given all of my

belongings that were with me when I was arrested.

International human rights law prohibits kidnapping

and torture in ordinary times as well as during times

of violent conflict.

The above account draws attention to the

relationship between the citizen and the judiciary.

Transitional justice relies upon citizens confidence in

their judiciaries. In Syria, judicial institutions must

undergo meaningful reform to gain the trust of

citizens, which, in turn, can pave the way for

transitional justice e!orts.

The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) is a non-profit, multilaterally-supported organization thatenvisions a Syria where people live in a state defined by justice, respect for human rights and rule of law.

The SJAC is collecting, preserving and analyzing information on human rights violations and other relevant data tocontribute to and inform a transitional justice process for Syria. Employing an unbiased and non-partisan approach,the SJAC also builds and maintains close relationships and partnerships with Syrian individuals, organizations,

communities and international actors working towards justice and accountability for all Syrians.

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