Physicians for Human Rights

Madaya: Portrait of a Syrian Town Under Siege

Friday, July 1, 2016
The Syrian government has besieged Madaya, a small town controlled by opposition forces an hour’s drive from Damascus, trapping residents inside without access to supplies, food, or services outside the town since July 2015, in violation of international humanitarian law. With inadequate food stores and medical care, 40,000 residents have suffered from starvation and malnutrition, and succumbed to disease, traumatic injury, and other life-threatening conditions.

Unbiased Health Care Stifled in Bahrain

Thursday, April 30, 2015
The release of Ibrahim al-Demestani, a nurse imprisoned by Bahraini authorities, is the latest chapter in the government’s ongoing campaign against health professionals. While his release should be celebrated, al-Demestani should never have been imprisoned and forced to complete a three-year sentence in the first place. As protests against repressive governments swept across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, people living in Bahrain launched peaceful protests. The response was unequivocal: the authorities launched a forceful, bloody crackdown against the largely peaceful protesters. A key element of this crackdown was the targeting of health professionals.

Attacks on Health Care in Syria Continue, Defying UN Resolutions

Friday, April 17, 2015
Deliberate attacks on hospitals and health care professionals in Syria persist despite three United Nations resolutions aimed at protecting civilians and new hopes of relief following recent international pledges of aid to Syrians in need, according to an online map of attacks on health Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) updated today.

Under the Gun: Practicing Medicine in Syria

Tuesday, March 10, 2015
It hurts me that my country needs doctors and I left. I was completing my medical residency at a public hospital when anti-government protests first broke out in Syria. By the end of 2011, government security forces were bringing detained members of the opposition to my hospital for treatment. Members of the security forces would insult and physically attack the medical staff, while also causing chaos by shooting their weapons into the air.

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