Published : 20-08-2018
The families of Palestinian refugees tortured to death in Syrian government dungeons have renewed calls to the Syrian government to release their relatives’ bodies so as to bury them in known cemeteries.
The families held the Palestinian factions and the Palestine Liberation Organization responsible for the fate of Palestinians held in Syrian lock-ups.
Activists said withholding dead bodies is another crime perpetrated by pro-government militias in Syria.
Withholding the bodies of slain civilians is prohibited under international law except in cases where pillage and mistreatment are feared to occur. The Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Convention, and the Rome Statute consider the despoliation and mistreatment of dead bodies war crimes.
Activists called for internationalizing the cause and appealing to international courts and human rights institutions to urge the Syrian regime to disclose the fate of several Palestinians held in government lock-ups and to release the bodies of those tortured to death.
A couple of days earlier, 21 human rights bodies called on the Syrian government to hand over the bodies of persons tortured to death in its dungeons to their families so as to bury them at the soonest time possible.
In recent weeks, hundreds of families have suddenly learned that their missing relatives have been registered as dead by the government. Government officials have not commented publicly on the new information or the causes of death, claiming most of the casualties died of sudden heart attacks.
AGPS documented the death of 555 Palestinian refugees as a result of torture in Syrian government prisons, among them 77 victims identified in photos leaked by the so-called activist Caesar.
The families of Palestinian refugees tortured to death in Syrian government dungeons have renewed calls to the Syrian government to release their relatives’ bodies so as to bury them in known cemeteries.
The families held the Palestinian factions and the Palestine Liberation Organization responsible for the fate of Palestinians held in Syrian lock-ups.
Activists said withholding dead bodies is another crime perpetrated by pro-government militias in Syria.
Withholding the bodies of slain civilians is prohibited under international law except in cases where pillage and mistreatment are feared to occur. The Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Convention, and the Rome Statute consider the despoliation and mistreatment of dead bodies war crimes.
Activists called for internationalizing the cause and appealing to international courts and human rights institutions to urge the Syrian regime to disclose the fate of several Palestinians held in government lock-ups and to release the bodies of those tortured to death.
A couple of days earlier, 21 human rights bodies called on the Syrian government to hand over the bodies of persons tortured to death in its dungeons to their families so as to bury them at the soonest time possible.
In recent weeks, hundreds of families have suddenly learned that their missing relatives have been registered as dead by the government. Government officials have not commented publicly on the new information or the causes of death, claiming most of the casualties died of sudden heart attacks.
AGPS documented the death of 555 Palestinian refugees as a result of torture in Syrian government prisons, among them 77 victims identified in photos leaked by the so-called activist Caesar.
