Report: Female Palestinian refugees repeatedly raped in Syria prisons

Families of female Palestinian prisoners in Syrian jails have said that their daughters were repeatedly raped and severely tortured, but their plight is being ignored.

According to the Task Group for Palestinians in Syria, the families sent a message to international bodies and rights groups criticising the negligence surrounding the issue, Shehab reported yesterday.

The Task Group – which received a copy of the message – said that the families called for international bodies and rights groups to work towards stopping torture and violations inflicted on their daughters inside Syrian intelligence services prisons, as well as to do their best to release them.

Ex-female prisoners have said that they were subject to “all form of torture inside Syrian prisons, including electrocution, hanging, being beaten with iron poles and whips, as well as being repeatedly raped by their jailers”.

Read: UK rally to demand freedom for jailed Syrian women

Sources have documented 1,730 Palestinian refugees inside Syrian jails, including 110 women, stating that they do not have any information about their situation.

According to the Task Group, the number of Palestinian detainees inside Syrian jails is larger than this, noting that some families of prisoners are afraid to revealed that their children are imprisoned or to give details about their whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the Task Group has documented the deaths of several female Palestinian refugees who passed away after being tortured, noting that the total number of Palestinian refugees who were tortured to death is 478.

Read: 317 Palestinian refugees lost in Syria, rights group says