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 Hamza Al-Khatib, whose picture has been widely distributed since he died 25 May, has become the symbol of the Syrian revolution and further motivation for demonstrators to take to the streets to reject the excessive force used -- in this case, against a 13-year-old boy -- by security forces.
Hamza was a seventh grade student from Al-Jiza village near the southern city of Daraa where Syrian demonstrations started 10 weeks ago. He was snatched by security forces on 29 April from among his peers as they headed towards Daraa to help ease the siege on the city and deliver food supplies to the residents there. He was taken as the group passed by buildings housing the families of army officers located on the main street.
On 25 May, his family picked up his body, and pictures and a video of his corpse were uploaded to Facebook, showing extensive disfiguration at the hands of the intelligence agencies. According to the video and statements by his family, he was shot at close range after he was brutally tortured, his sexual organs severed, and his hand broken. The websites of Syrian opposition described the crime as "unprecedented and undocumented even at the peak of fascist measures by Syrian security forces, whether inside or outside detention camps".
The video tape of Hamza's corpse shocked the West as much as Syrians themselves. Within hours, Syrian activists changed their Facebook pictures to one of the young boy, in solidarity with his cause. Satellite news channels broadcast details of the sadistic incident and condemned the security forces.
Syrians across the country heeded the call by activists to take to the streets on Saturday in protest at the aggressive suppression of demonstrations, calling it "The Saturday Revolution for Martyr Hamza". Protesters put up pictures of Hamza in many Syrian cities, including in barricaded Daraa and several other cities with heavy security and military presence. Demonstrators chanted for the fall of the regime, while children in rural areas in Damascus, brandishing pictures of the child, chanted: "We are all Hamza; we will not be silent."
In an attempt to excuse what happened, Syrian television and official media broadcast statements by the head of forensics in Syria who said that Hamza arrived dead in Damascus from Daraa as a result of a bullet wound. Also, that at the time of the forensic examination there were no signs of torture on the body, and that the swelling that occurred is a result of one month passing since he died and not the result of torture. The statement appalled the Syrian people and was rejected by physicians.
The director of the National Human Rights Organisation Ammar Qarba rejected the explanation and said that the deceased's family "received his body from the authorities in this state which showed signs of torture." Meanwhile, Syrian intellectuals and activists issued a statement entitled "We are all Hamza" condemning the torture the boy was subjected to, and holding the Syrian authorities responsible for the political, humanitarian and legal burden of the torture and killings taking place there, and what happened to Hamza. They urged that the authorities be held accountable for their perpetration of crimes against humanity, including children.
Activists have begun gathering signatures for a petition directed to UNICEF to issue a stamp with Hamza's picture on it to commemorate his tragedy. Meanwhile, others are propagating the idea of commemorating the day he died as the National Day for the Syrian Child. Several pages in his name were launched on Facebook with more than 16,000 members in less than 24 hours.
Syrian activists asserted that security forces arrested Ali Al-Khatib, Hamza's father, possibly to coerce him into making statements which paint the authorities in a better light and refute any accusations against them. This is what happened to the Imam of Al-Omari Mosque, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Sayasna, who recanted his statements in support of protesters after he was detained by security forces.
Hamza's tragedy is a symbol of the violence of Syrian security forces to challenge demonstrators to stop their protests. "We will not be silent after today if Syrian authorities do not prosecute the criminals who tortured Hamza and others," retorted Rami Abdel-Rahman, director of the Syrian Human Rights Monitor. Other activists and writers in Syria and other Arab countries assert that "the brutality and sadism in targeting a young child is unprecedented." They said that the Syrian oppression machine "has evolved in form and content without any accountability, and its members are permitted to do anything, including murder".
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