"Inside Syria’s Secret Prisons": A Harrowing Account of How Assad’s Torture Machine Crushed Dissent

A shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad’s government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied running a secret torture and detention program, more evidence - including internal Syrian government documents - has emerged showing the extent of the torture program. A United Nations panel has said the conditions in the prison -including the paucity of toilet facilities, rampant illness, minimal and rotten food, and the absence of medical treatment - are tantamount to “extermination.” We speak with the report’s author Anne Barnard. She’s a reporter at The New York Times and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
#DemocracyNow #Syria #SyrianCivilWar
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[@paulgibby6932]

"...conditions in the prison -including the paucity of toilet facilities, rampant illness, minimal and rotten food, and the absence of medical treatment" "tantamount to extermination" -- could be a US prison, except they have to work for corporations too.

[@dijidal]

I have faith in US populace after reading this comment!!!

[@Sen-uv2ru]

Is this really Democracy Now

[@navh2000]

What a load of crap. "and they were throwing babies on the floor from incubators."

[@mamamac5267]

Why would you want someone from a newspaper you’re people don’t trust 😒

[@michaelepstein2570]

Amy Goodman showing her true colors.

[@leivabernie]

What true colors? Really man? Amy is one of the few who go after truth. It is the NYT who reported this, we will have to see the evidence.

[@mikemaloney1289]

Communist Red

[@jamesgraham4242]

@Paul B Who made you the Sheriff? Piss off. Assad won. All Hail Assad.

[@michaelepstein2570]

@@leivabernie Amy does NOT go after the whole truth.

[@michaelepstein2570]

@@leivabernie There is a lot she leaves out.

[@robert9ish]

I think America has its' own multitude of shit heads to worry about without this garbage journalism. Disappointed, Amy and Democracy Now. Looks more like "Democracy Sometimes" from where I'm standing at the moment.

[@grantmarcus5675]

Yes, it's gone downhill. To DemocracyNow, for example, RT, American news reported on by American journalists, is a Russian conspiracy station And on Syria, they have never given it a favorable story. Much of the reason for that is Nermeen Shaikh, whose like is pretty secretive before her college career. This story is a lot of BS. What DemocracyNow won't tell you about this story is that The New York Times has basically merged with Verizon. Interestingly the New York Times, in the last 2 days, has targeted Venezuela and Syria, 2 of 7 countries that do not accept the use of 5G technology, put out by Verizon, for fear of cancers. Iran is another. They are also 3 countries who don't accept the dollar as currency. Interesting too, DemocracyNow refuses to cover this conflict of interest at the New York Times but runs a fraudulent story by the New York Times on Syria and torrture. This story, written by Anne Barnard, includes DemocracyNow photos of torture that DO NOT match the words of the Bernard's torture story, with one man playing an instrument, another working in the dark on a computer, and a woman sitting on a well-made bed. Meanwhile, words describe blood on the floor and rotten food, which do not reflect the pictures shown. In other words, Barnard's story has no photographic evidence. Further, Barnard is a member of the elite group, Council on Foreign Relations, which has been criticized for getting America into the Vietnam Wa, and into perpetual wars to fight "terrorism" an expression coined by the CFR. This think tank was founded by the Rockefellers, who still man as Directors, as well as Monica Crowley, assistant to Richard Nixon sits on the Board of "distinguished" members. The New York Times played its own part in starting our needless wars in the Middle East, running the fictitious stories on aluminum tubes and mushroom clouds, to throw America into 18+ years of war that has cost us $5.6 trillion thus far. The New York Times, with its corporate partner Verizon, is pushing 5G worldwide.and has never reported on a war it didn't like. My advise is to take this sensational story on secret torture in Syria with a grain of salt; it has its bias. Nermeen Shaikh, who begins with the lead-in questioning, has her own Mideast agenda, and it is not to be trusted. She misguided DemocracyNow's Amy Goodman and viewers alike, with stories praising and honoring the White Helmets, for weeks on DemocracyNow!. The White Helmets have been revealed as frauds, working with ISIS, and staging phony video chemical attacks, with funding from the CIA. DemocracyNow! has never written a fair story on Syria, and it has a lot to do with Nermeen Shaikh. She is also tied to TedTalk, which promotes nuclear development. She got most of her education at the Queen's university, in England. It is difficult to find any information on Nermeen before she graduated from college.

[@rollafilms4601]

.Democracy sometimes. Ace Lols

[@grantmarcus5675]

@@rollafilms4601 Everybody knows democracy's over Everybody knows the vote is rigged. Everybody knows the bar's been lowered Everybody knows all the wars are fixed Everybody knows the money wins and anyone for peace will just end up nixed It's how it goes everybody knows.

[@gregdonoghue5714]

council on foreign relations hahahahahahaha yeah, i believe every word

[@lagosolarbros]

@#TrumpTheLyingInsaneFascistBigot well said

[@xyzsame4081]

@Comrade Kabo good link !

[@Majoofi]

Why are you just repeating the New York Times? Doesn't Democracy Now do original reporting?

[@mikemaloney1289]

No. They regurgitate news, lie and obfuscate

[@wolflg]

sounds like Guantanamo, smh

[@mamamac5267]

I don’t want to watch this anymore goodbye 👋

[@grantmarcus5675]

You're luckier than I am. I used to pay for it!

[@Magic818100]

I don't know about this one I'm not saying Syria is perfect but I'm not sure about all this

[@anthonyreyes8868]

Blue Angel Fly like an Eagle just look at the outlet reporting it the biggest liars and spreader of misinformation

[@faROCK03]

You can look up the Caesar pictures. The torture and dissapearences are not fake. It's well known. Bashar even admitted it but said it's often an "accident". Yeah am I'm sure the girl who said she was raped is lying. For what? There's literally no benefit. Her husband divorced her and her brother tried to kill her for being raped.

[@Magic818100]

democracy Now like others other sources that are out there I'm not saying that everything the report is false but they do report sentence true sometimes we just going to have to do our own research to see what's true and what is not

[@ARCSTREAMS]

@@Magic818100 ahtribune.com/in-depth/614-caesar-photo-fraud.html

[@shemirama1408]

NYT/Council On Foreign Relations?!? R u serious? Come on Amy - did u sell out, too? Ooyvay!

[@paulmerelrich9863]

Of course they did Democravy now parrots many many propoganda puppet lines

[@michaelepstein2570]

Lies, lies and more lies.

[@amranbarwaqo4562]

That woman is telling lies. Oh my God . Why democracy now hired that moron to speak.

[@mikemaloney1289]

Thats the bottom line

[@grantmarcus5675]

@@amranbarwaqo4562 If Syria could tell us lie after lie, they'd hire Nermeen Shaikh to tell it, and Amy Goodman to lick her toes while she was speaking.

[@beebom8407]

Where then can we rely for an unbiased news source? It’s getting pretty depressing if what people are saying here are true. No more independent news outlets to give us real news stories?!

[@theciakilledjfk5973]

Democracy now still does good work, but there is no question that this is exactly the kind of thing that the Pentagon and CIA would want them to report. The people in the comment section are correct, for the most part, in their criticism.

[@xyzsame4081]

The Real News is consistenly UNBIASED (given that they are openly left leaning and anti war), their segments are often good (not all - but there are real gems), - especially the interviews with Larry Wilkerson. Chris Hedges RT On Contact. Noam Chomsky (may he live long and healthy !) Just came from an interview of DN Bottle of Lies, very interesting. But the anti Syria bias was visible for the longest time.

[@xyzsame4081]

There has been torture going on in Syria (on behalf of the U.S. no less, see Robert Baer ex CIA *) - under Assad the father and under the new regime (Assad is in power since 2000, I read that one of his brothers is in charge of the secret service - which likely includes torture). For the sake of the Syrian people I would hope that Assad is more on the side of authoritarian but reasonable ruler - and not on the side of brutal dicator condoning torture. Or enabling it and looking the other way - while others do the dirty work. Likely with little oversight - so the inevitable sociopaths among the wardens have free reign. * en.wikipedia (dot) org/wiki/CIA_activities_in_Syria - paranoia seems to be in order (when that much of meddling and coups are going on authorian regimes tend to get more brutal in order to make sure they stay in power). That said: the numbers given by Democracy Now are implausible, like the numbers pushed by Amnesty International in Jan 2017 did not make sense. Just too high. And DN haa bias against the Assad government That people have vanished (or seem to have vanished) does not signify much. Millions have left the country or moved around in the country. Families that stayed behind might prefer to feign that they do not know where their male relatives are (who would be subject to the draft). See the cases of (often well educated) young Syrian males that usually integrate well into the European labor market. One I met mentioned that there was an amnesty for those that evaded being drafted (I think in 2017) but he let that pass and did not return to Syria. he assumes that he can never return to Syria because he would go to prison. Family is safe obviously. They stayed in Syria. On the other hand I assume the family was wealthy enough to finance his journey to Europe (paying the traffickers). I am under the impression that he was at the university (getting a degree in IT) and has now a paid internship in a software company. When he performs well, he can stay there and make good money. Other males were drafted, lost life or health. Meanwhile those men with some luck are in Germany or Sweden (which might not be seen favorable by families who lost family members, especially when they did serve in the army. Or gov. officials - when the family of the refugee in europe is asking for assistance. If they joined one of the many militant groups and were killed and no information given to relatives (or they do not dare revealing that they know what happened) - they are "missing". They have a witness and give her name (rape in prison) that carries some weight. The Council of Foreign Relations ?? Really ?? The New York Times does good reporting too (when they are not shilling) - but in the case of Syria they have been a government mouthpiece (already under Obama). * from the Wikipedia article Extraordinary rendition, 2001-03 The CIA used Syria as an illicit base of operations to torture ghost detainees, as part of a program known as extraordinary rendition. This program was established in the mid-1990s and expanded in the 2000s. One target of this program, Syrian-born Canadian Maher Arar, was detained in New York and sent to Syria, where he was interrogated and tortured. Arar, a telecommunications engineer who has been a Canadian citizen since 1991, was asked to confess his connections to al-Qaeda and to terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Arar was held for more than a year; after his release, he sued the U.S. government. According to a U.S. Judge (and confirmed by Canadian investigators):[30] During his first twelve days in Syrian detention, Arar was interrogated for eighteen hours per day and was physically and psychologically tortured. He was beaten on his palms, hips, and lower back with a two-inch-thick electric cable. His captors also used their fists to beat him on his stomach, his face, and the back of his neck. He was subjected to excruciating pain and pleaded with his captors to stop, but they would not. He was placed in a room where he could hear the screams of other detainees being tortured and was told that he, too, would be placed in a spine-breaking "chair,” hung upside down in a "tire" for beatings, and subjected to electric shocks. To lessen his exposure to the torture, Arar falsely confessed, among other things, to having trained with terrorists in Afghanistan, even though he had never been to Afghanistan and had never been involved in terrorist activity. Arar alleges that his interrogation in Syria was coordinated and planned by U.S. officials, who sent the Syrians a dossier containing specific questions. As evidence of this, Arar notes that the interrogations in the United States and Syria contained identical questions, including a specific question about his relationship with a particular individual wanted for terrorism. In return, the Syrian officials supplied U.S. officials with all information extracted from Arar; plaintiff cites a statement by one Syrian official who has publicly stated that the Syrian government shared information with the United States that it extracted from Arar. See Complaint Ex. E (January 21, 2004 transcript of CBS's Sixty Minutes II: “His Year In Hell”). The U.S. initially invoked the “state secrets privilege”. When legal proceedings began anyway, the Ashcroft Justice Department was ridiculed for arguing that Arar was in fact a member of Al Qaeda.[31] The Canadian government has apologized to Arar but the U.S. has not admitted wrongdoing.[30] Journalist Stephen Grey has identified eight other people tortured on behalf of the CIA at the same prison ("Palestine Branch") in Syria. The CIA imprisoned a German businessman, Mohammad Haydr Zammar, and transferred him from Morocco to the Syrian prison. They subsequently offered German intelligence officials the opportunity to submit questions for Zammar, and asked Germany to overlook Syria's human rights abuses because of cooperation in the War on Terror.[32] According to a 2013 report by the Open Society Foundation, Syria was one of the "most common destinations for rendered suspects" under the program.[33] Former CIA agent Robert Baer described the policy to the New Statesman: "If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear - never to see them again - you send them to Egypt".[34] The Robert Baer quote became notorious - it does not look good for the U.S. so I tend to believe him more than A.I. It seems they have been captured as well for the disinformation agenda (see Libya where mass rape with the help of viagra was the "humanitarian" pretext for the war. Amnesty backed up the story. Could not be corroborated when NATO had taken out the regime. But hey, Libya was "liberated" who cared about the statement of yesterday. AI still does valuable work (which is widely ignored by politics and mainstream media). But occasionally the war mongers find it useful to take a piggy ride on their reputatation. - and that is why it makes sense to undermine AI as well: when they publish stories that are embarrassing for the powers that be, they do not much harm. But if AI reports on Libya, or Syria - those reports are amplified by the media AND politicians. In Jan. 2017 the regime changers had the problem that "there will be a genocide in Aleppo once the government troops take it back" (= drive out the jihadists) could not be upheld, not even with intense spin. So after they were in full control a few days before Christmas 2016, the Western mainstream media dropped the story (including the last hospital, and another last one, and one more …. that had been going on since summer, since the jihadists were retreating and lost ground around and in the occupied part of Aleppo (the east). Little girl Bana had finally travelled to Turkey with her mother - so that thread that had sold well for a time, had to be abandoned as well. so we were treated to the AI report of ten thousands (or 6 digits) of people killed in one prison. That was a repetition from 1 or 2 years earlier. And the supposed logistics of it still did not make sense (the sheer number).

[@xyzsame4081]

The Real News has a subsite for each segment with an embedded youtube video and in most cases an edited transcript. That is very useful in case you did not understand a name or want to copy a few sentences. Or you can watch them directly on youtube, and give them a like there.

[@ARCSTREAMS]

are you guys on the pay roll now? shame on you

[@piratacaribeno1291]

It seems that the NYT forgot about Guantanamo torture, Yemen's civilian massacre, Israel torture on children, and so on...

[@iversonmatthew]

Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones..

[@karlosmontoya459]

Darn... if only ISIS had won the war in Syria with the weapons and support we gave them. They treat their prisoners with respect.

[@stephenbutler6819]

bit of bad news mate isis are scum too

[@ARCSTREAMS]

i am deeply disappointment and lost my respect for you guys showing this western narrative and lies ,you seem to be falling for there bs now ,i thought you were more objective and on the right side ,,really lost my respect and viewership with these old bs stories

[@tydiab8838]

when are they going to document with goes on and Israeli secret prisons where they have 12 year old kids being tortured everyday

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Ty Diab Total lies bullshit..

[@robert9ish]

@@MitzvosGolem1 Then what do you call Palestine?

[@MitzvosGolem1]

robert9ish where is Palestine? I lived in Ramalah nite clubs test jobs nice homes in West Bank... Come see for Yourself.

[@robert9ish]

@@MitzvosGolem1 I think not.

[@tydiab8838]

@@MitzvosGolem1 My family is from Lydd, both sides, all their land was confiscated,in 1948,I have nothing left to come back to. Enjoy my father's country, I'm not going to be able to.. Wrong religion, too bad, I believe all religions are equal in the land,but Israel says I have no rights to my grandfather and grandmother's land, 7,000 acres total...all stolen, Lydd and Danian

[@bobburnell5033]

hogwash

[@awesome_infidel5216]

This channel is beginning like any other MSM outlets

[@retiredshitposter1062]

nah, you're just waking up.

[@grantmarcus5675]

@@MA-qe2sn George, how do they "shadow-ban" comments? I don't know the technique or how they would do it.

[@grantmarcus5675]

​MA: I've noticed that happens to many of my comments. I know too that because I have protested fracking and I've been in the Counter-Recruitment Movement and the Occupy Movement, through Freedom of Information, I have been before the FISA court. Does that have something to do with it, or no? Is the CIA responsible for shadow banning, or is it the site's personal controller?

[@grantmarcus5675]

@@MA-qe2sn It happened way before I made comments on Israel and Nazinyahu. How do you get a name like yours, you know an anagram, that's not your name? A disguise if you will? I don't know how to do it, but I want to look into it. That might help. Do you know?

[@4thamigo776]

Do as I say not as I do... I'm pretty sure Guantanamo bay isn't a holiday camp. We know what's going on there but that seems fine.

[@0MVR_0]

I have yet to hear from a person on this show who believes Guantanamo Bay is fine.

[@4thamigo776]

@@0MVR_0 I think u need to read my comment again. I never said nothing about the shows opinion, I'm talking about society esp in USA that ignores there holiday (detention) camp as there media seem to think its fine!!! No trial no jury yet detained indefinitely, where is the criticism of that in there nation, like i say (Do As I Say Not As I Do!)... yet more bs propaganda to push a agenda. It seems fine for the great USA to detain ppl without trial or jury yet anyone else do it then u must be a terrorist state using USA logic, esp if u have oil or any other resources this nation of thieves will want to steal it. Can ppl honestly say that America helps anyone but themselves.

[@0MVR_0]

Your original comment said nothing on the media and was equally disconnected from the video's subject matter. 'What about'ism is a lack of perspective equivalent to name calling in useful rhetoric and discussion.

[@4thamigo776]

@@0MVR_0 ok if u think so....is that it? I think u missing the point but tbh I'm not surprised.

[@0MVR_0]

The video is literally about a prison in Syria and makes no mention of detention of persons in a general context nor some equivalence to the US justice system and Guantanamo, you arbitrarily made that connection whether you were surprised or not.

[@Hayanomie]

Syrian here. Dunno why everyone is being skeptical. This is not only possible, it's a well know and feared phenomenon in Syria. It's the reason so many never speak about government or anything political there because "the walls have ears". You have to serve in the military when you turn 18. In the time there, I've heard from relatives that they were punished with lashes, beatings, and one time having to bathe in piles of excrement. Now imagine prison... Where they've accused you of treason. Go look up videos inside and you will find the Syrian army beating men and telling them to kneel and bow to Assad.

[@incubator6916]

World’s Biggest Terrorists . --- www.veteranstoday.com/2016/05/31/time-to-hunt-down-and-capture-the-worlds-biggest-terrorists/

[@realtijuana5998]

Amy? Amy Goodman? Are you in on this too? Oh, trump.

[@OHexpat12]

Nice to meet Nermeen!

[@hamedKhatibani-hr3ox]

I am now unsubscribing from democracy now. They have now shown the true colour

[@charliebarton]

Assad’s detention facility reports Remind me of that old Bill Hicks joke but updated. U.S. Official - we know Assad uses torture... we kept the transcripts....

[@AboxoroxRoxursox]

Like gitmo and cia black sites and cointelpro....

[@robertberger8981]

Amy Goodman shows her true self she is helping the USA to go and liberate Syria she makes believe that the USA is the salvation of the world.

[@jameswatson9338]

That's definitely not what I get out of this station. They criticize human rights abuses in America all the time. This video never suggests that the United States needs to intervene in Syria, they're just pointing out a problem we all should know about.

[@maxpower8973]

I'm with you, Robert. Asaad is a martyr.

[@leivabernie]

Man stfu. This woman put her life on the line for people she had never met. She stood for what was right. How dare you, what the fuck have you done in the name of those who cannot defend themselves?

[@tydiab8838]

tstart with being salvation for the Hispanic people on the border that are being thrown in prison & their children sitting in a desert prison cages, we're worried about Syrian people, being free are you kidding me?

[@gardengeek3041]

@@leivabernie Many of these people who make such outrageous comments aren't right in the head. You've made an important point about infighting and finger pointing. That won't help to close the torture prisons.

[@LHKKKing]

Why do we care so much about Assad when we have Guantanamo and Gina Haspel?

[@0MVR_0]

Injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.

[@paulswoodward]

This rhetorical question sums up the racism implicit in the selective moral indignation that is outraged by American violence while indifferent to the violence perpetrated by others. The question, if comparisons was actually the issue, could logically be posed the opposite way: Why do we care so much about Guantanamo and Gina Haspel if we're indifferent to the torture and killing of hundreds of thousands of Syrians? Apparently, because as Americans our sole interest in global affairs should focus on the actions of other Americans. Ironically, many of the critics of U.S. foreign policy turn out to be just as U.S.-centric in their outlook as the U.S. hawks.

[@alecgross12]

Horrifying, if it’s true. But what we do know to be true is that more than half a million people in Iraq have been killed since the start of the war, making citizens there wish Sadam was still in power. Is this going to be a repeat of the Iraq war?

[@TheMcbird]

Amy Amy Amy... With all the good reporting you do, you go and do a propaganda piece! Why?

[@tydiab8838]

3 million people have disappeared,, from society, in the United States, mostly for speeding tickets and child support, so think about that one

[@MrHarpette]

@Diab Huh?

[@tydiab8838]

@@MrHarpette lawyer in California he's telling me that 80% of the people in the prisons are people that couldn't afford to pay a speeding ticket or a DUI ticket or child support they're not hard core criminals

[@MrHarpette]

@@tydiab8838 Ah, you'd got me worried with your "disappeared from society".

[@jameskiffin502]

assad makes kim jong un look like an angel

[@boris75723]

What about Gauntanamo...

[@input365]

As a member of the counsellor for foreign relations she, without a doubt she can not be trusted. I have a question for this lady, can she openly shows , speaks and condemn the atrocities that the US and Israel government are committing all over the world? We would like to see that

[@grantmarcus5675]

But Anne Barnard is in such good company: the Rockefellers, Assistant to Richard Nixon, Monica Crowley...Not to mention the CFR was responsible for the Vietnam War and coining the term, "terrorism." The perpetual war archetype, given fanfare and undivided attention on DemocracyNow!. How do we get back our money? I thought I was paying for truth in journalism, exception to rulers, independent global news. Oh brother. Oh sister.

[@xxxbbbqqq]

In Syria's prisons are a lot of people who tried to help the CIA overthrow the Government, and faild.

[@georgemansour5843]

Why didn't Amy ask her about the genoside which the US airfroce commited in RACCA .

[@AudioPervert1]

this is the dark ages ... man, the world shame of this torture and those who do it.

[@lolyou6676]

I also heard that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction?

[@grantmarcus5675]

I hear Anne Barnard is working on a story that Guantanamo has been turned into a vacation resort. Seems strange to me that the U.S. has special ops and committed murder in 36 countries, and yet there's a story on this tripe by the CFR, who made Vietnam happen and coined the word "terrorism" and is run by the Rockefellers.

[@kararal-shimary7870]

Fake news

[@alecgross12]

Not to be flippant, but this is a blip compared to what we did in Vietnam. I would love to be part of a humanitarian mission to Syria, but if this is being used as a reason to start a war, it’s a hard no thank you

[@grantmarcus5675]

I think DemocracyNow! should go back to doing reporting on the torture going on in our own prisons. Try the Fourth Rikers, not too far from the station. I guess it's too difficult for reporters to get down the street.

[@xyzsame4081]

Vietnam ? Try Korean ! Even WW2 generals were shocked.

[@grantmarcus5675]

@@xyzsame4081 And try about a 100 other places in the world where our Nazi CIA/NSA have invaded and regime changed all over the world.

[@mamfloyd]

Lies + Bullshit = NYT

[@qawmysuri]

show the evidence you claim you have!!! I can claim what i want

[@user-vn8wy6ig8q]

😥😥😥😥😥

[@rodrigofonseca6241]

Why should i trust thr NYT? Why should i trust Democracy Now?

[@pakalupapito1528]

holy shit the amount of trolling here. great exposay. good work

[@grantmarcus5675]

Trolling? Some of us are very angry because we have spent $Thousands in donations to air DemocracyNow! And what do we get for our efforts? Fake news. The Reduncancy to the Rulers. Defying Independent MSN. The wolf is grandma, and she's at the door.

[@WeltschmerzvonGavagai]

If u think something is propaganda how do you know its real propaganda or you’ve been propagandized to think it’s propaganda? 🤔

[@realeyesrealizereallies6828]

Aint buyin what there sellin......

[@sabi8381]

Hmmmmm TNT? I think they have lost their credibility in my book.

[@michaelepstein2570]

A hit piece on Assad. Shame on you Amy.

[@fsjcan]

Lol...new York times..lol moving on

[@gogogeegee76]

And also Hitlerry lost the elections so, get over this one too!

[@juliusaugustino8409]

New York Times track record is horrible in reporting news so I'm skeptical, but certainly this is still very much possible.

[@vnevarez100]

How come the nyt know so much about Syria and dumb about Venezuela,,,,

[@irisryu6437]

aw things look so bad over there. can we invade them soon ;D

[@allangilchrist5938]

Long live the USA and Israel.

[@tomasinacovell4293]

Israel is not the problem of the Mideast, it's all about Islam and its legacy.

[@tydiab8838]

Somebody didn't get a history degree

[@poppinandrottin]

Ilove the smell of bots at any time of the day! Sure is many in here.

[@MrHarpette]

@Ignacio Yeah, bots that reply too!

[@everettduncan7543]

Nah, it's just that Democracy Now has the world's worst audience

[@LiterallyRiggtarded]

People are in here claiming “fake news” but don’t actually say anything to refute it

[@jameswatson9338]

Yes. If this is propaganda, please tell me WHY. A lot of people are implying that this is a way of saying America should attack Syria, but DN never gave an indication that they support that. They just don't support jailing and torturing protesters, which seems like a perfectly reasonable possibility given how many world leaders take that approach.

[@MrHarpette]

@@jameswatson9338 As i already replied elsewhere here, that's the kind of article that everybody and their dog are going to pick up for justifying intervention in Syria, and you know it, and they know it. DN usually dwells on overlooked/under-reported info, and this one ain't it.

[@xyzsame4081]

There has been torture going on in Syria (on behalf of the U.S. no less, see Robert Baer ex CIA *) - under Assad the father and under the new regime (Assad is in power since 2000, I read that one of his brothers is in charge of the secret service and torture). For the sake of the Syrian people I would hope that Assad is more on the side of authoritarian but reasonable ruler - and not on the side of brutal dicator condoning torture. Or enabling it and looking the other way - while others do the dirty work. Likely with little oversight - so the inevitable sociopaths among the wardens have free reign. * en.wikipedia (dot) org/wiki/CIA_activities_in_Syria - paranoia seems to be in order (when that much of meddling and coups are going on authorian regimes tend to get more brutal in order to make sure they stay in power). That said: the numbers are implausible, like the numbers pushed by Amnesty International in Jan 2017 did not make sense. See blog of Moon Of Alabama Just too high. That people have vanished (or seem to have vanished) does not signify much. Millions have left the country or moved around in the country. Families that stayed behind might prefer to feign that they do not know where their male relatives are (who would be subject to the draft). Meanwhile those men with some luck are in Germany or Sweden (which might not be seen favorable by families who lost family members, especially when they did serve in the army. If they joined one of the many militant groups and were killed and no information given to relatives (or they do not dare revealing that they know what happened) - they are "missing". They have a witness and give her name (rape in prison) that carries some weight. The Council of Foreign Relations ?? Really ?? The New York Times does good reporting too (when they are not shilling) - but in the case of Syria they have been a government mouthpiece (already under Obama). * from the Wikipedia article Extraordinary rendition, 2001-03 [Assad took over after the d death of his father in 2000] The CIA used Syria as an illicit base of operations to torture ghost detainees, as part of a program known as extraordinary rendition. This program was established in the mid-1990s and expanded in the 2000s. .......... According to a 2013 report by the Open Society Foundation, Syria was one of the "most common destinations for rendered suspects" under the program.[33] Former CIA agent Robert Baer described the policy to the New Statesman: "If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear - never to see them again - you send them to Egypt".[34] The Robert Baer quote became notorious - it does not look good for the U.S. so I tend to believe him more than A.I. report quoting "Ceasar" (2015 / and again in 2017) It seems they have been captured as well for the disinformation agenda (see Libya where mass rape with the help of viagra was the "humanitarian" pretext for the war. Amnesty backed up the story. Could not be corroborated when NATO had taken out the regime. But hey, Libya was "liberated" who cared about the statement of yesterday. AI still does valuable work (which is widely ignored by politics and mainstream media). But occasionally the war mongers find it useful to take a piggy ride on their reputatation. - and that is why it makes sense to undermine AI as well: when they publish stories that are embarrassing for the powers that be, they do not much harm. But if AI reports on Libya, or Syria - those reports are amplified by the media AND politicians. In Jan. 2017 the regime changers had the problem that "there will be a genocide in Aleppo once the government troops take it back" (= drive out the jihadists) could not be upheld, not even with intense spin. So after the Assad gov was in full control of all of Aleppoe a few days before Christmas 2016, the Western mainstream media dropped the story. Including: "the last hospital" and another last one, and then the very last …. that had been going on since summer, since the jihadists were retreating and lost ground around and in the occupied part of Aleppo (the east). Little girl Bana had finally travelled to Turkey with her mother - so that thread that had sold well for a time, had to be abandoned as well. so we were treated to the AI report of ten thousands (or 6 digits) of people killed in one prison. They had reported about that in 2015 - Ceasar. And the supposed logistics of it still did not make sense (the sheer numbers).

[@WeltschmerzvonGavagai]

So according to the comment section assad is a saint!?lol

[@MrHarpette]

@Weltschmerz Okay, LOL all you want. See ya.

[@technatezin]

Nah, it's not that Assad is a saint or anything, but rather that the story is not believable given some of the claims like Assad releasing members of ISIS and religious extremists who oppose a secular government and who are also trying to kill him. Also, notice that the claims are not verifiable with photographic evidence unlike other occurrences of torture and mistreatment.

[@paulswoodward]

@@technatezin The photographic evidence is extensive and the photographs come from Syrian government records www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/02/09/syrias-torture-photos-witness-to-atrocity/

[@guyrocheleau5329]

People vote with their feet. And, in the case of Syria, the verdict is clear.

[@carlabroderick5508]

Boycott this comment section, nothing but Russian trolls here.

[@armandorodriguez2386]

Let go of the phone Amy! These damn millenials.

[@ansar714]

Fake news