Syria marks international Day in Support of victims of torture

Every year on June 26, the world pauses to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. However, in Syria, this date is not merely a UN observance; it is an open wound that evokes the atrocities committed by the ousted Assad regime throughout the years of the revolution.

On this anniversary, Syrians recall the suffering of hundreds of thousands of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons who endured various forms of brutality and humiliation in the dungeons of the security apparatus.

Following the fall of the ousted regime in 2024, this day has become a milestone for demanding the revelation of the victims’ fate and the accountability of their torturers, affirming that torture is an unforgivable crime and that justice is not a political option but an absolute necessity for building the Syria of the future.

Catastrophic Figures and Documents Reveal Scale of Tragedy

Since the outbreak of the popular movement in 2011, the issue of arbitrary detention and torture has become one of the most painful files in modern history.

Official documents and secret records that emerged following the fall of the regime have revealed shocking figures included in a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) issued last year, which documented the deaths of 45,032 people under torture, including 216 children and 95 women.

Despite the significant progress made in 2025 in documenting deaths and revealing the fate of many forcibly disappeared individuals, thanks to the discovery of official evidence, more than 181,000 people remain among the detained or forcibly disappeared, amid ongoing suffering for their families.

Infrastructure was not spared from the regime’s brutality either; the Network documented 566 attacks on medical facilities, 1,287 attacks on schools and kindergartens, and 1,042 attacks on places of worship.

The Methodology of Repression and the Geography of Pain

The report held the ousted regime responsible for more than 99% of deaths under torture, emphasizing that the violations were not mere individual transgressions, but a systematic policy that included sexual violence, psychological humiliation, starvation, denial of medical care, and electric shocks.

The governorates of Daraa, Damascus countryside, Hama, and Homs topped the list of the most affected areas, recording unprecedented rates of arrest and torture against their residents.

International commissions of inquiry and various other bodies have classified these practices as war crimes and crimes against humanity due to their widespread and systematic commission.

Steps Toward Accountability and Combating Impunity

On the judicial front, European countries have witnessed significant trials based on the principle of “universal jurisdiction” against suspects accused of committing torture crimes in Syria, a move rights advocates see as a gateway to breaking the barrier of impunity.

In this context, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has called for the protection of the uncovered evidence, the launch of independent and transparent investigations, and the implementation of comprehensive programs for redress and the provision of psychosocial support for victims and their families.

Justice: A Cornerstone for the New Syria

The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1997 to coincide with the entry into force of the Convention Against Torture in 1987, affirms that protecting human dignity is a legal and moral obligation.

International charters, such as Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasize the absolute prohibition of torture and degrading treatment.

For Syrians, revealing the fate of the missing and punishing those responsible for these crimes remains the fundamental cornerstone to ensuring that the tragedies of the past are not repeated, and to transitioning toward a new Syria where human rights are respected.