Report Human Rights Situation in Syria during the Past Decade

Ten Years in al-Assad's Grip

Tags: West Asia , Civil Society in West Asia

The recent release of a country report on Syria by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies covers Syria’s human rights situation during the past decade under the rule of Bashar al-Assad.The report examines the arsenal of autocratic laws inherited by Bashar al-Assad and strengthened by new repressive decrees and laws. In the ten years of al-Assad’s rule, he has deployed them to silence every dissident voice and restrict individuals’ basic rights and liberties. These laws are always at the ready to be used to harass activists and human rights defenders, repress all appeals for reform, and continue the persecution of the Kurdish minority. They further strengthen impunity and provide permanent immunity to those involved in these abuses, protecting them from accountability or justice.