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Syria Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Syria

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  • Dorothy_button

    “A Country of Dark Corners”: Freed Journalist Dorothy Parvaz on Her Syrian Detention and the Assad Regime Crackdown

    Al Jazeera correspondent Dorothy Parvaz disappeared for 19 days when she flew to Damascus to cover the uprising there at the end of April. Parvaz was jailed in a Syrian prison, where she underwent interrogation and witnessed the abuse of pro-democracy protesters. She was ultimately deported to Iran, where she was detained again and then finally released. We speak with Parvaz about her ordeal and the unfolding human rights crisis in Syria. [includes...
    Jun 02, 2011 | Story
  • Button1_syria

    Syrian Troops Pursue “Scorched Earth” Policy; Videos Document Children Tortured to Death

    The Syrian army has taken control of the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour following what state media has described as heavy fighting by "armed groups," who residents say are mutinous soldiers defending the town. Our guest Neil Sammonds, Syria researcher for Amnesty International, is interviewing refugees who have fled the violence by crossing into Turkey. They tell him Syrian military forces have destroyed houses, burned crops, slaughtered...
    Jun 13, 2011 | Story
  • Button2_maherarar

    Maher Arar: My Rendition & Torture in Syrian Prison Highlights U.S. Reliance on Syria as an Ally

    As Syria continues its brutal crackdown on demonstrators, we speak to a Canadian citizen who was repeatedly tortured by Syrian authorities after he was rendered to Syria by the United States in 2002. Maher Arar was seized at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 and sent to Syria, where he was tortured and interrogated in a tiny underground cell for nearly a year. He now works as a human rights advocate in Canada....
    Jun 13, 2011 | Story
  • Syria_bahrain_button

    Obama Limits Criticism of Ongoing Arab Spring Violent Crackdowns in Syria, Bahrain

    The Obama administration has issued minor criticism of human rights abuses against peaceful protests by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and the monarchy in Bahrain. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just recently said the conflict in Yemen would end only if President Ali Abdullah Saleh "steps down." We speak with University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole about why the United States has not been more vocal in supporting...
    Jun 22, 2011 | Story
  • Zeid_majed_button

    As Ramadan Begins, Assad Regime Intensifies Deadly Crackdown on Syrian Protesters

    The government crackdown on protesters in Syria has reached a new level of violence just as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has begun. At least six people were killed earlier today, pushing the toll to at least 150 over the last two days. An attack on the central city of Hama began Sunday, when more than 100 people were killed by government forces, and continued into Monday with another 24 dead across the country. Syria has banned most foreign...
    Aug 02, 2011 | Story
  • Razan_button

    Syrian Activist Razan Zaitouneh: Assad Regime the Lone "Terrorist Group" Inside Syria

    We go to Syria to speak with human rights activist and attorney Razan Zaitouneh, who provides us with an update of the violent government crackdown on pro-democracy protest movement across the country. "We want the whole world to know what’s going on," Zaitouneh says. "We all know the truth. We all know that the only terrorist group in the country is this regime, who has been killing its own people for more than four months,...
    Aug 02, 2011 | Story
  • Play_syria

    Syrian Forces Attack Civilians in Hama as U.N. Security Council Wavers on Condemning Crackdown

    Syrian forces are pushing toward the center of the restive city of Hama as they continue an offensive in which an estimated 140 people have been killed. Residents say they saw explosions Wednesday morning and lines of tanks heading into the city. Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, called on Tuesday for a rapid end to violence in Syria but said direct U.S. involvement was unlikely. The U.N. Security Council met Tuesday...
    Aug 03, 2011 | Story
  • Syria_play

    Syria Attacks Protesters with Tanks, Naval Bombardment: "The Regime Has Made War Against the People"

    Syria has intensified its crackdown on opposition protesters despite growing international pressure. This morning, Syrian tanks and gunboats reportedly shelled the main Mediterranean port city of Latakia, killing one person and bringing the total dead to at least 28 since government forces moved into the city on Saturday. The violence follows massive demonstrations on Friday in which tens of thousands of people turned out to protest the Assad...
    Aug 15, 2011 | Story
  • Cheney_button

    Ex-Bush Official Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: "I am Willing to Testify" If Dick Cheney is Put on Trial

    As former Vice President Dick Cheney publishes his long-awaited memoir, we speak to Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. "This is a book written out of fear, fear that one day someone will 'Pinochet' Dick Cheney," says Wilkerson, alluding to the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who was arrested for war crimes. Wilkerson also calls for George W. Bush and Cheney to be held...
    Aug 30, 2011 | Story
  • Syria_button

    Amnesty International Decries Assad Regime's "Brutal" Crackdown on Syrian Protesters

    The top legal official in the embattled Syrian city of Hama has defected to the opposition in protest of what he called crimes against humanity committed by security forces. Many of the incidents he has referred to are documented in a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International on the killing and torture of anti-government activists in Syria since the uprising began there in mid-March. Researchers documented that at least 88 people have...
    Sep 01, 2011 | Story