Detailed Account of 2014 Syrian Network For Human Rights ۱ This report includes: First: Methodology ........................................................................ 1 Second: Active Parties ................................................................... 2 A. The Syrian government ............................................................ 2 B. Kurdish forces ................................................................. 18 C. Extremist factions .......................................................... 19 D. Armed opposition ......................................................... 22 E. Unidentified groups ....................................................... 23 Third: Recommendations ............................................................ 24 2 Syrian Network For Human Rights First The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) is an independ- Methodology ent nongovernmental nonprofit human rights organization that was founded in 2011 to document the ongoing violations in Syria and publish periodic studies,researches, and reports while maintaining the highest levels of professionalism and objectivity as a first step towards exposing violations perpetrators, hold them accountable, and insure victims’ rights. It should be noted that the U.N. relied on SNHR’s documentation, as its most prominent source, in all of its statistical and analytical reports concerning the victims of the Syrian conflict. Furthermore, SNHR is approved as a certified source by a wide range of Arabic and international news agencies and many international human rights organizations. The founder and head of SNHR is Mr. Fadel Abdulghani, the network’s team consists of 23 researchers and human rights activists. SNHR relies in all of is reports and studies mainly on the investigations conducted by its members inside and outside Syria. These investigations are conducted through field-visits or interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses. All of the incidents listed in this report have been documented in extensive reports which were published on the network website in Arabic and English. In this report we selected the most prominent violations that were perpetrated in 2014. The international humanitarian law and the customary international law in parallel with the international human rights law are all binding upon all the conflict parties. We emphasize that all of the statistics and incidents included in this study reflect minimally the gravity and scale of the ongoing violations that have been perpetrated in Syria since 2011. 1 Syrian Network For Human Rights Syrian Government’s Violations Extrajudicial killing 32507 75% 30% Extremist Factions’ Violations Armed Opposition 24430 8077 30% of the civilian 75% of the including Extrajudicial killing Groups’ Violations victims are children victims are Kurdish Daesh Violations An-Nussra Front Violations and women civilians Extrajudicial killing Forces’ Violations 3714 3629 Violations Government forces 153 Extrajudicial killing Victims have used 48 3557 Perpetrated by including 1257 killed 32 Cluster Munitions Unidentied Groups International by Snipers 92 times in 2014 110 including 4 16 915 2642 89 29 Extrajudicial killing Alliance Forces including including 28 Extrajudicial killing including 1183 74 including killed by 79 132 17 18 102 8 1397 including 2 4 Cluster Remnants 3 19 + 40 killed 21 242 291 + Media Activist including 59 Poison Gases Attacks + 8 4 killed 131 killed 1 1254 143 27 Arrest, Enforced-disappearance, and Torture Arrest, Enforced-disappearance, including Medics Media Activist and Torture + prisoners from the 6 8 50 7 Government Forces Daesh Violations Detainees Arrest, Enforced-disappearance, 122 and Torture 48 61 162 + were released 8 killed 200 580 Arrests including 16 including 211 Media Activist 1800 Arrests including + 16 760 4 killed 20 Enforced- 19 650 Arrests including 210 Under Torture Disappearance Arrest, Enforced-disappearance, and Torture killed 4 Under Torture An-Nussra Front Violations 11 Cases 450 Number of victims killed in extra-judicial killings by: 800 Government Forces 36 Enforced- 36 Detainees were released Arrests including 6400 Arrests including released 1476 950 Disappearance 32507 Syrian Government’s detainees 1200 21 Cases Number of arrests made by: 3557 Daesh 6400 Syrian Government’s 1397 Unidentied Groups killed 1993+Under Torture + 9500 1800 Daesh 1257 Armed Opposition Groups Enforced- 950 Armed Opposition Groups 153 An-Nussra Front 11 Disappearance An-Nussra Front Kurdish Forces 78 1915 including Cases 650 110 9 580 Kurdish Forces 40 International Alliance Forces On Sunday 9 February, 2014, government forces killed three women in Al-Jalma village (Hama) Second with live bullets. On Tuesday 18 February, 2014, government Active Parties forces helicopters dropped a barrel bomb on Al-Mazerieb town (Daraa) near an UNRWA-run school to kill 19 civilians including four children and five women. A. The Syrian government The term “government forces” refers On Wednesday 2 April, 2014, government forc- es helicopters dropped a barrel bomb on Jesr to all the active parties including the Al-Mushat area which is located on As-Saghour army, security forces, intelligence ap- highway (Aleppo). The barrel bomb fell on a paratus, and the local militias, such minibus which led to the death of eight civilians as the National Guard Army, in ad- including a child and a woman. dition to the foreign Shiite militias in Syria. On Sunday 21 September, 2014, government forces warplanes targeted two agricultural sites First: Violations against civilians in the surroundings areas of Saraqeb (Idlib) with and persons Hors de combat a missile which killed 19 civilians including nine children and six women. A- Extra-judicial killing: From Wednesday 1 December, 2014 On Wednesday 8 November, 2014, government until the end of 2014, SNHR docu- forces, stationed at the military college in Al- mented the killing of no less than Wa’r neighborhood (Homs), targeted a residen- 32507 at the hands of government tial tower with an explosive cylinder which de- forces as follows: stroyed the building heavily. The cylinder was • 24430 civilians including 3629 followed by a missile and a number of mortar children and 3714 women. shells which fell on the yard next to the tower. Eight civilians were killed by that attack includ- • 8077 rebels ing four children and three women. The percentage of children and wom- en victims is 30% which is an explicit On Sunday 2 November, 2014, government forc- indicator that government forces are es raided Al-Karim village in Hama and started deliberately targeting civilians by in- shooting indiscriminately to kill 15 victims in- discriminate shelling and executions. cluding a child and three women. 2 Syrian Network For Human Rights B. Arbitrary arrests and illegal detention Raids, arrest, and forced-disappearance all forcibly-disappeared persons has exceeded have been policies of government forces. 950,000. We documented no less than 6400 arrests In 2014, The Syrian government started including 2300 women in addition to 800 arranging settlements in a number of areas children at least. such as in the old city of Homs and Damas- In most of the cases, the detainees are re- cus countryside. This settlements were usu- ferred to a court (whether it was a military ally between the Syrian government on one court, a civil court, or the terrorism court) hand and peaceful activists, rebels, or de- where charges are pressed without any fected soldiers on the other hand. However, grounds. Most of the confessions are ob- most of the prisoners who were released tained through torture and oppression while pursuant to these settlements were arrested some of the detainees get released but only again by the Syrian government especial- after paying costly bails. We documented ly of they were activists. We documented 1476 releases during 2014 where most of more than 1910 cases where prisoners were the released detainees were ordinary citi- arrested after they were released since the zens. Activists don’t usually get released beginning of 2014 mostly in Homs and Da- except in extremely rare cases. mascus countryside. Detainees are placed in overcrowded rooms with no judicial supervision. Also, detain- ees are prohibited from contacting their families or lawyers. Many detainees became automatically for- cibly-disappeared as we gradually become unable to get any new information about them and their families disturbingly lose any contact with them. Although Syria is not party to the agree- ments regarding enforced-disappearance, it is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which prohibits enforced-disappearance. By systematical- ly practicing enforced-disappearance on a larger scale, the Syrian government have perpetrated serious violations that can be classified openly as crimes against human- ity. In 2014 alone, more than 10,000 were forcibly-disappeared as the total number of 3 Syrian Network For Human Rights Mr. Jdea’ Abdullah Noufal, 63-year-old, human rights ac- tivist since 1989, founded Center for Democracy and Civ- il Rights in Syria, he was managing the center from inside Syria. He was arrested by government forces on Friady 31 October, 2014 from the immigration office at the Leb- anese-Syrian borders while he was heading to Damascus after attending a workshop on human rights that was hell by OHCHR in Lebanon. On Tuesday 2 December, he was transferred to Adra Central Prison and then he was referred to a judge in Damascus on Monday 2 December to issue