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Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

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"SOHR" redirects here. For other uses, see SOHR (disambiguation).

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)
Native name
المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان
Type of site
News reporting
Available in2 languages
List of languages
  • Arabic
  • English
FoundedMay 2006 (2006-05)
HeadquartersCoventry, United Kingdom
OwnerOsama Suleiman (a.k.a. Rami Abdulrahman)
Founder(s)Osama Suleiman (a.k.a. Rami Abdulrahman)
Key peopleOsama Suleiman[1][2]
URLwww.syriahr.com/en/

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; Arabic: المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. It has been frequently quoted by major news outlets since the beginning of the war about daily numbers of deaths from all sides in the conflict[3][4] and particularly civilians killed in airstrikes in Syria.[5] The SOHR has been described as being "pro-opposition" and anti-Assad,[a] but has reported on war crimes committed by all sides of the conflict.

History and operations

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is run by "Rami Abdulrahman" (sometimes spelled as Rami Abdul Rahman), from his home in Coventry.[2] Abdulrahman is a Syrian Sunni who owns a clothing shop. Born Osama Suleiman, he adopted a pseudonym during his years of activism in Syria and has used it publicly ever since.[2] After being imprisoned three times in Syria, Abdulrahman fled to the United Kingdom fearing a fourth jail term and has not returned.[5]

In a December 2011 interview with Reuters, Abdulrahman claimed the observatory has a network of more than 200 people and that six of his sources had been killed.[5] In 2012, Süddeutsche Zeitung described the organisation as a one-man-operation with Abdulrahman its only permanent member.[1][verification needed] In April 2013, The New York Times described him as being on the phone all day everyday with contacts in Syria, relying on four individuals inside the country who collate information from more than 230 activists, while cross-checking all information with sources himself.[2]

Accuracy and independence

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Neil Sammonds, a British researcher for the London-based Amnesty International, said, "Generally, the information on the killings of civilians is very good, definitely one of the best, including the details on the conditions in which people were supposedly killed."[2]

The organisation says on its website that "The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is not associated or linked to any political body."[12]

SOHR has been described as being "pro-opposition"[6][7][8][9] or anti-Assad[10][11] and has been criticised for refusing to share its data or methodology.[13] It has been also criticised for selective reporting, covering only violent acts of the government forces against the opposition for the first two years of its existence[14] and reporting anti-government fighter deaths as civilians deaths.[15]

Classified U.S. diplomatic cables, provided by the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks, showed that the U.S. State Department has funneled $6 million to Barada TV, an anti-Assad satellite TV channel operated by people affiliated with SOHR, between 2006 and 2011 to operate the satellite channel and finance activities inside Syria, The Washington Post reported in 2011.[16][17] In 2013, the New York Times reported that Rami Abdulrahman had received small subsidies from the European Union and one European country.[2] Medialens said that journalist Ian Sinclair confirmed "in communication with the Foreign Office" that "the UK funded a project worth £194,769.60 to provide the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights with communications equipment and cameras."[18]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Attributed to multiple sources: [6][7][8][9][10][11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Schaible, Jonas (26 November 2012). "Syrische Beobachtungsstelle für Menschenrechte: Ominöse Protokollanten des Todes" [Syrian observatory for human rights: Ominous loggers of death]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). London. ISSN 0174-4917. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f MacFarquhar, Neil (9 April 2013). "A Very Busy Man Behind the Syrian Civil War's Casualty Count". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  3. ^ "26 civilians killed in Syria on Friday: Observatory". The Asian Age. 18 February 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights". Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Abbas, Mohammed (8 December 2011). Golovnina, Maria (ed.). "Coventry – an unlikely home to prominent Syria activist". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Report: Almost 6,000 Dead in Syria During Geneva Talks". Time. 17 February 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Syrian civil war: Jabhat al-Nusra's massacre of Druze villagers shows they're just as nasty as Isis". Independent. 13 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Syrian opposition group accuses rebel unit of torture". Reuters. 9 April 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Syrian rebels 'killed in army ambush near Damascus'". BBC. 7 August 2013.
  10. ^ a b "ISIL fights Syrian rebels near Aleppo as army prepares assault". america.aljazeera.com.
  11. ^ a b "Syrian Forces Take Last Rebel Stronghold on Lebanese Border". Haaretz. Reuters. 16 March 2014.
  12. ^ "About Us • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". 6 September 2014.
  13. ^ Adam Taylor: "200,000 dead? Why Syria’s rising death toll is so divisive" 3 December 2014, washingtonpost.com Accessed 20 February 2018
  14. ^ AsiaNews: Massacres by Islamic extremists bolster Bashar al-Assad, 17 June 2013, retrieved 8 July 2013
  15. ^ Syria Contextualized. By Musa al-Gharbi Middle East Policy Council Spring 2013, Volume XX, Number 1
  16. ^ Whitlock, Craig (18 April 2011). "U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition groups, cables released by WikiLeaks show". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  17. ^ Morrison, Sarah (19 April 2011). "UK-based Syrian TV station denies secret funding from US government". The Independent. London.
  18. ^ The Syrian Observatory - Funded By The Foreign Office, 4 June 2018, Medialens
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