Justice, Syrian style: Pro-reform groups publish online image of ‘martyr’ being tortured to death

THis image, released online by opposition activists, apparently shows the last moments of a pro-reform “martyr’ named as Louai al-Amer.

He was allegedly tortured to death in the town of al-Hula in the province of Homs in August.

Several such images – seemingly taken from mobile phone footage shot by Syrian soldiers – have appeared on the internet since the unrest began.

President Bashar al-Assad’s government still insists the unrest is being driven by foreign terrorists.

The regime also disputes the accounts of civilian deaths and says 1,400 people have been killed, evenly split between security forces and the opposition. The latest United Nations’ figure is 2,600, the majority of them civilians.

The regime is being penalised, however. From tomorrow, the European Union will ban firms from making new investments in Syria’s oil industry following an earlier ban on imports of Syrian oil. The US already has such a ban.

Syria has said it can sidestep sanctions by selling oil to Russia or China. But oil traders say most Syrian attempts to sell oil in recent weeks have failed due to a lack of bids, cutting off a source of income that accounts for around one third of the regime’s revenues.