Nach »Al Jazeera«, das sich auf einen Bericht von »Amnesty International« (via BpB-Newsletter) stützt, habe das Regime von Assad seit Beginn des Krieges in Syrien im Jahr 2011 mehr als 65.000 Menschen verschwinden lassen. „An enforced disappearance occurs when someone is abducted by state agents, who then conceal the person’s whereabouts, denying them legal protections. The scale and scope of this practice in Syria amounts to crimes against humanity, the Amnesty report concluded, mirroring previous findings from the United Nations. Amnesty’s report […] found that enforced disappearances have been carried out by all four branches of the Syrian security forces, as well as by the armed forces and militias associated with the Syrian government. The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a local monitoring group, has documented 65,116 cases of enforced disappearances – including 58,148 civilians – between March 2011 and August 2015. The actual number is believed to be even higher, as many Syrians are reluctant to publicly discuss the issue for fear they, too, could be targeted. […] Amnesty’s report identified three main profiles of people targeted for enforced disappearances, including peaceful opponents of the government, individuals considered disloyal to the government, and family members of people wanted by the state.“ (mh)