The Syrian government has been accused of torturing the relatives of Syrians protesting overseas in an attempt to silence international criticism of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The charges are made in a report from Amnesty International – The Long Reach of the Mukhabaraat (the name of the Syrian secret police) – which details more than 30 cases of direct and indirect intimidation of activists in Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the UK and US.
One dissident, now living in Germany, told Amnesty that his brother had been arrested, held for a month and tortured by Syrian military intelligence because of his sibling's anti-regime stance. In Sweden, another pro-reform activist said her activities on the internet and the streets of Stockholm had attracted the attention of the Syrian authorities.
At the end of May, she received a letter in Arabic using her maiden name, which warned her: "Keep quiet or neither you, nor your family inSyria is safe." Not long after, her brother was arrested in Damascus, had both his hands broken and was forced to promise that the family would disown his sister.
Anti-regime activists in several countries have reported being harassed, intimidated and even assaulted. » | Sam Jones | Monday, October 03, 2011
