On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has published its annual report, once again exposing one of the most horrific and enduring crimes committed against Syrians since the outbreak of the revolution in March 2011.
The report reveals that thousands of forcibly disappeared individuals have died in detention centres operated by the Syrian regime, significantly contributing to the mounting toll of deaths from torture and inhumane detention conditions.
According to SNHR, the year 2025 alone has seen a dramatic surge in confirmed torture-related deaths, due largely to the emergence of thousands of new testimonies, documents, and items of evidence. In total, at least 29,959 people were confirmed to have died under torture in 2025, raising the overall toll from March 2011 to June 2025 to 45,342 victims, including 225 children and 116 women.
The report highlights that the majority of these deaths occurred between 2011 and 2014, a period marked by intense campaigns of arrest and enforced disappearance led by the regime. SNHR also documented that at least 181,244 individuals, including 5,332 children and 9,201 women, remain detained or forcibly disappeared in various detention facilities across Syria since 2011.
Of these, at least 177,021 people—including 4,536 children and 8,984 women—are classified as forcibly disappeared. Many were detained for their participation in the peaceful uprising of 2011 and were denied any form of legal recourse or judicial process.
Critically, SNHR emphasised that more than 99% of the torture-related deaths—45,032 out of 45,342—occurred in facilities under the control of the Syrian regime. The organisation affirmed that torture has been employed as a systematic tool of repression, pursuant to an official policy executed through the regime’s four primary intelligence agencies: Air Force Intelligence, Military Security, State Security, and Political Security. This policy has also extended to military and civilian prisons, as well as informal detention centres.
The report detailed 72 distinct methods of torture, ranging from physical beatings and electric shocks to waterboarding, hanging, prolonged solitary confinement, and the denial of food and medical treatment—alongside documented incidents of sexual violence. These brutal practices have been inflicted upon individuals of all ages and backgrounds, including children, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
The provinces recording the highest number of torture victims were Daraa, Rural Damascus, Hama, and Homs. SNHR noted that geographic origin often influenced the severity of torture, with individuals from opposition-held areas facing particularly brutal treatment as part of a broader policy of collective punishment.
This article was translated and 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.
