176 prisoners tortured to death in Syrian prisons

Some 176 prisoners were tortured to death inside Syrian regime prisons in March, Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed.

SNHR records show that the number of prisoners killed after being tortured in prison has exceeded 500 deaths in a single month. The March deaths included two children under 16, two women, a doctor and a nurse. Charges or the reason of detention for the deceased were not revealed.

Lawyer Ma’an Al-Ghonimi was among those killed; he was arrested ten months ago. At the end of March, the military informed his family of his death which took place in mid-January as a result of a brain clot.

The military did not hand over his body to his family and did not inform the family about his secret burial.

According to SNHR, Al-Ghonimi was tortured to death at the air force intelligence department. SNHR called for the UN Security Council to turn the issue of killing prisoners to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Syrian National Coalition and other international human rights organisation have together called for turning this issue to the ICC, but the Russian and Chinese stance, which support Al-Assad’s regime, have undermined potential measures by the UN Security Council.