My friend Shabnum Mustapha, who's Amnesty's Scottish Director, was on Good Morning Scotland today talking about the chilling report on torture in Syria produced by the organisation.
I've read the report. It's utterly horrible and upsetting. Crucifixion, rape, electric shocks, gouging flesh with pincers, all would be bad enough to read about in a novel. When you think that this is most likely happening to someone in Syria as I write, it becomes even more harrowing. Syria is a place where not even hospitals are safe from a dehumanizing, cruel regime. Every single one of those people in the report has a family who loves them. Imagine the effect on them, too.
Shabnum's interview is available on iPlayer here from around 1hr 46 minutes in. I think she did an amazing job. She was able to convey the absolute horror of the brutality she was talking about, yet remained calm and and rational, outlining what needed to be done to stop it. It's good that Amnesty is collecting this sort of credible evidence and incredibly frustrating, but not surprising, that Russia and China won't allow the UN to do anything to stop it.
I did not think she did a great job at all. She decries Russia and China when they are the lone voice trying to get a peaceful settlement in Syria. Has everyone forgotton the horror of UN intervention in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteSurely a human rights activist would be on Russia's side especially since Assad is completely in accord with their peace initiatives.