WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on eight Syrian prisons run by the Assad regime's intelligence apparatus, which have been sites of human rights abuses against political prisoners and other detainees. In a statement on Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it is also designating five senior security officials of regime entities that control these detention facilities. "The Assad regime has waged a ruthless war against the Syrian people, imprisoning hundreds of thousands of Syrians calling for reform and change, of whom at least 14,000 have been tortured to death," the OFAC said in the statement. "More than 130,000 people reportedly remain missing or arbitrarily detained to this day — the vast majority of whom are either presumed dead or are detained without communication with family or legal representation, the OFAC added. The US Treasury office also slapped sanctions onf Syrian armed group Ahrar al-Sharqiya, which operates in northern Syria, for abuses against civilians, and is also sanctioning two of the group's leaders. Ahrar al-Sharqiya has committed numerous crimes against civilians, particularly Syrian Kurds, including unlawful killings, abductions, torture, and seizures of private property. The group has also incorporated former Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Daesh) members into its ranks. These horrific acts compound the suffering of a population that has repeatedly endured mass displacement, according to the statement. "Today's designations promote accountability for abuses committed against the Syrian people and deny rogue actors access to the international financial system," said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki. "This action demonstrates the United States' strong commitment to targeting human rights abuses in Syria, regardless of the perpetrator." The move furthers the objectives of the Caesar Act, which seeks to hold the Assad regime accountable for the commission of atrocities against those detained in its prisons. Many of the prisons designated on Wednesday, which are operated as branches of the Syrian Military Intelligence and the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, were specifically highlighted in images provided by Caesar, a Syrian regime defector — in whose name the Caesar Act was passed into law — who worked as an official forensic photographer for the Syrian military and who bravely brought to light thousands of images of detainees who were tortured and killed.
