Amnesty finds evidence of torture in Syria

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LONDON, March 14 (UPI) -- Pro-democracy prisoners in Syria were hung on raised hooks, electrocuted with cattle prods and subjected to sexual violence, Amnesty International said.

"They pulled down his trousers. He had an injury on his upper left leg," a Syrian witness told the rights group of the abuse of another prisoner, referred to as Khalid.

"Then the official raped him up against the wall. Khalid just cried during it, beating his head on the wall."

Amnesty International, in a 45-page report on alleged Syrian atrocities, said it documents more than 30 different types of torture used by Syrian authorities against detainees.

The rights group said the testimonies it received from survivors of prisoner abuse add to the growing body of evidence to suggest the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is committing crimes against humanity.

Ann Harrison, interim deputy director for Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program, said the international political issues are hindering necessary actions against the regime.

"We continue to believe that the International Criminal Court represents the best option of securing real accountability for those responsible for the grave crimes that have been committed against people in Syria," she said in a statement.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency reports that human rights groups in the country found evidence that at least 45 people in Homs were killed after they were tortured by armed terrorist groups.