US Treasury Sanctions Syrian Prisons, Officials, Armed Group
Voice of America
29 Jul 2021, 08:35 GMT+10
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions on eight Syrian prisons run by President Bashar al-Assad's intelligence agencies, citing human rights abuses against political prisoners and other detainees.
The department also sanctioned five senior Syrian government officials who control these detention centers.
"The Assad regime has waged a ruthless war against the Syrian people, imprisoning hundreds of thousands of Syrians calling for reform and change, of whom at least 14,000 have been tortured to death," the Treasury Department said in a statement. "More than 130,000 people reportedly remain missing or arbitrarily detained" by Syrian government security forces, the statement added.