[UNStories #44] Syria: Torture and Punishment

Torture has been documented as a weapon of war in Syria, and the UN Human Rights Office through its Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, is helping victims to access much needed rehabilitation services. Victims of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment languish in official and makeshift detention facilities throughout the Syrian Arab Republic, and detainees are often held beyond the protection of the law and with no access to the outside world. Their stories, gathered from interviews conducted by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) illustrate the suffering inflicted by Government forces, as well as by some armed opposition groups.