Syrian Dictator Bashar al-Assad’s Atrocities

When Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled his country on Saturday, he left a grisly reminder of his legacy. Between 2011, when the Syrian civil war began, and this year, more than 136,000 people are believed to have been jailed or made to disappear, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. That includes 3,700 children and 8,500 women. Many who’ve just been released report indescribable killings and torture in hellish living conditions.

Some of the stories beggar belief. Ragheed al-Tatari was a Syrian air force pilot who refused to bomb the city of Hama during protests against the regime of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father. For that in 1981, he was thrown into prison for life. The military tribunal that sentenced him took just one minute to decide his fate.

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John Fund

John Fund is National Review’s national-affairs reporter.

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When Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled his country on Saturday, he left a grisly reminder of his legacy. Between 2011, when the Syrian civil war began, and this year, more than 136,000 people are believed to have been jailed or made to disappear, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. That includes 3,700 children and 8,500 women. Many who’ve just been released report indescribable killings and torture in hellish living conditions.

Some of the stories beggar belief. Ragheed al-Tatari was a Syrian air force pilot who refused to bomb the city of Hama during protests against the regime of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father. For that in 1981, he was thrown into prison for life. The military tribunal that sentenced him took just one minute to decide his fate.