Detention in Syria is equivalent to disappearance – UN official

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro asserted on Friday that detention in Syria is equivalent to disappearance.

This came during a conference held in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on Friday, on the fate of the detainees in the prisons of the Syrian government.

Pinheiro stressed that the fate of tens of thousands of Syrian civilians are unknown, most of whom have been in the government’s prisons for ten years.   

He added that predictions indicate that most the detainees have been executed and buried in mass graves, and others subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

Pinheiro urged the need to establish an independent mechanism with international authorities to investigate the issue of disappeared civilians.

The UN official stressed that a delay in establishing this mechanism would make it more difficult to uncover the fate of these people.

On April 30, the Syrian Presidential issued a decree offering general amnesty for “terrorist crimes committed before April 30, 2022.