Wednesday, 05 October 2011
A woman identifying herself as Zeinab al-Hosni shows an ID card on Syrian television; she had been reported as dead, a victim of Syrian forces. (File photo)
Syrian state-run TV has aired an interview with a young woman who was reported to have been beheaded and mutilated by security agents while in custody.
Zaynab al-Hosni became a symbol of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad after international human rights watchdogs said late September that her mother had found her mutilated body in a morgue.
But a woman claiming to be Hosni appeared on Syrian state television on Tuesday night, flashing her identity card as proof.
“I fled my family [in late July] because my brother beat me. My parents do not know where I am,” said the woman; she was dressed in black clothing and her face was uncovered.
“They do not know that I am alive. I learned about my own death on television channels which said the Syrian security forces detained me, and burned and cut up my body,” she said.
Zaynab al-Hosni became a symbol of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad after international human rights watchdogs said late September that her mother had found her mutilated body in a morgue.
But a woman claiming to be Hosni appeared on Syrian state television on Tuesday night, flashing her identity card as proof.
“I fled my family [in late July] because my brother beat me. My parents do not know where I am,” said the woman; she was dressed in black clothing and her face was uncovered.
“They do not know that I am alive. I learned about my own death on television channels which said the Syrian security forces detained me, and burned and cut up my body,” she said.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had issued statements in September denouncing the murder of the 18-year-old, whose body they said had been discovered in a morgue by her mother.
At the time, Amnesty said her family had come across her body when they went to the morgue on September 13 to identify her activist brother Mohammed, who was also apparently arrested, tortured and killed.
“Zaynab had been decapitated, her arms cut off, and skin removed,” the London-based watchdog said in a statement, adding she was the “first woman known to have died in custody during Syria's recent unrest.”
The New York-based Human Rights Watch had said Zaynab al-Hosni vanished in late July and that the Syrian authorities returned her “dismembered body” to her family on September 17.
It said that the killing and mutilation of the 18-year-old “highlights the need ... for an international investigation into rampant killings and torture in Syria.”
At the time, Amnesty said her family had come across her body when they went to the morgue on September 13 to identify her activist brother Mohammed, who was also apparently arrested, tortured and killed.
“Zaynab had been decapitated, her arms cut off, and skin removed,” the London-based watchdog said in a statement, adding she was the “first woman known to have died in custody during Syria's recent unrest.”
The New York-based Human Rights Watch had said Zaynab al-Hosni vanished in late July and that the Syrian authorities returned her “dismembered body” to her family on September 17.
It said that the killing and mutilation of the 18-year-old “highlights the need ... for an international investigation into rampant killings and torture in Syria.”
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