Saleh Ahmad Saleh, a child born in 2008 from al Qamishli city in northern Hassakeh governorate, resident in al Ashrafiya neighbourhood in Aleppo city, was brutally assaulted by police personnel from al Aziziya Neighborhood Police Station in Aleppo city, which is controlled by the Syrian regime forces, on August 13th, 2022. The assault occurred between the al Ashrafiya neighbourhood and Masaken al Sabeel in Aleppo city, with police first savagely assaulting the child before arbitrarily arresting him.
The SNHR received information from witnesses who stated that detectives at al Aziziya Police Station accused the boy of theft. The arrest was carried out without any legal or judicial warrant being issued, the child’s family wasn’t informed of his arrest, and he wasn’t allowed to contact them or a lawyer.
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The next day, August 14th, 2022, the child’s family received notification from police personnel ordering his father to go to the police station; on his arrival, he was informed that his son had committed suicide by hanging himself, and told to take the child’s body without any forensic report. The child’s father refused to take his body away until after a forensic report was issued.
The boy’s family received his body from the Forensic Department in Aleppo city on August 15th, 2022, with the regime’s forensic pathologists supporting the police claim that the child had committed suicide.
On August 18th, 2022, SNHR obtained photos and videos, clearly showing the lethally brutal torture that the child Saleh Ahmed Saleh had been subjected to in custody. We are well aware of the extent to which the Syrian regime controls all state institutions, including pathologists’ labs and hospitals, and of the inability of personnel working in these facilities to dissent with, expose or speak out against the security forces, knowing that they will face a terrible fate for doing so.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, in its Article 37, stipulates that children accused of violating the law should not be subjected to death, torture, cruel treatment, life imprisonment, or be imprisoned with adults. Imprisonment in such cases should be a last resort and for the shortest possible period. Imprisoned children also have the right to legal aid and to be able to maintain contact with their families.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
