Syrian President lashes out at Amnesty

	Syrian President lashes out at Amnesty
	Donate Now In the first interview Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has given to an American reporter since President Trump's inauguration, he likened Amnesty's research to "fake news." Donate and support our rigorously researched investigations that hold human rights abusers accountable. Dear friends, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad just called Amnesty research "fake news." Last week, we released a chilling report that exposed the Syrian government's calculated campaign of executions by mass hangings at Saydnaya Prison. In five years, as many as 13,000 people, most of them civilians, were hanged in secret after "trials" lasting one to three minutes each. This week, in the first interview Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has given to an American reporter since President Trump's inauguration, the dictator lashed out. He said, "It's a shame for such an organization to publish a report without a shred of evidence." Then he invoked the term fake news to describe our report. "You can forge anything these days, and we're living in a fake news era, as you know." Amnesty research teams keep vigilant watch on the rights of people around the world, based on in-depth investigations free of corporate and government influence. Donate and support our rigorously researched investigations that hold human rights abusers like al-Assad accountable. The findings of the report are based on an intensive investigation, which was carried out over the course of one year, from December 2015 to December 2016. It involved first-hand interviews with 84 individuals who included former Saydnaya guards and officials, detainees, judges and lawyers, as well as national and international experts on detention in Syria. If President al-Assad has nothing to hide, he must immediately grant access for international monitors to Saydnaya and all other places of detention in Syria. After the report's release, al-Assad is feeling the pressure. With your help, we can keep it up. Your donation can help us continue sending research teams to Syria and bordering countries to unearth the truth and bring it to light. The horrific treatment of prisoners in Syria is part of the reason so many refugees have fled the country. Help us continue being a voice for the rights of people of Syria and the refugees who have fled for their lives. Sincerely, Margaret Huang Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
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