While efforts are underway to reintegrate the new Syria into the international community, reports coming from within the country remain troubling. They speak of widespread human rights violations, particularly those affecting the rights of minorities to live and express themselves freely, as guaranteed by international covenants and conventions in this field.
Among the reports we have received from inside Syria is the case of an armed group linked to factions within the new ruling authority that kidnapped a young Shiite man from the village of Al-Foua in the Idlib countryside. The group demanded a ransom of 250,000 USD from his family. Since the family is poor and unable to pay the amount, the armed group killed the young man, documented the crime, and sent photos of the victim to his family but refused to hand over his body.
As the security and protection of all citizens fall under the responsibility of the state, the new Syrian government bears full responsibility for the discrimination, persecution, and systematic violence that minorities are subjected to — acts rooted in extremist ideology.
