Ribal Al-Assad calls on the Syrian regime to act on Human Rights Watch report

Human Rights Watch has criticised the Syrian regime for not delivering on its promises of political reform and to improve its human rights record during a decade in power, which they say has been marked by repression.

In a report titled “A Wasted Decade,” Human Rights Watch state that the regimes initial promises have not translated into any kind of government action to promote criticism, transparency, or democracy. The regime continues to suppress rights, detain activists, censor the media and sideline the Kurds.

Human Rights Watch said that "Syria’s security agencies continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, sentence people following unfair trials. A review of Syria’s record shows a consistent policy of repressing dissent regardless of international or regional developments. Syria’s emergence from its Western-imposed isolation since 2007 has not improved the situation for Syria’s political and human rights activists."

Commenting on the report, ODFS Director Ribal Al-Assad said:

"It has indeed been a wasted decade for the people of Syria. I commend Human Rights Watch for its timely and accurate report, which shows that the Syrian regime has no respect for basic human rights. I call on the regime to end repression and injustice by lifting the state of emergency immediately and to increase public freedoms. Syria must move towards genuine democracy and freedom in a peaceful and transitional way."