The Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of repression in its efforts to crush opposition, Amnesty International said today in a new report. The 39-page report Health Crisis: Syrian Government Targets the Wounded and Health Workers documents how wounded patients in at least four government-run hospitals have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including by medical workers. Hospital workers suspected of treating protesters and others injured in unrest-related incidents have themselves faced arrest and torture. “It is deeply alarming that the Syrian authorities seem to have given the security forces a free rein in hospitals, and that in many cases hospital staff appear to have taken part in torture and ill treatment of the very people they are supposed to care for,” said Cilina Nasser, Amnesty International Middle East and North … Read entire article »