A father’s testimony as to how his son was killed and how his other sons were taken hostage: Syria Friday April 22, 2011

Please note: This is my transcription of the English translation of the following Youtube video. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6dsdSnNhSE&feature=player_embedded

http://syrianrevolutiondigest.blogspot.com/2011/04/backlash-to-bloodshed.html


I am the father of martyr Moatez Bellah Shaar. My name is Mohammad Bashar Shaar. I am saying these words and I swear on my honor and on this holy book (displays a Quran) that my words are true and that this is what’s happening in our country. Four weeks ago we were coming home from the picnic we passed by the mosque of “Abdulkareem Rifaee.” We finished our prayers and left the mosque to find a shockingly huge number of security forces carrying electrified sticks, batons, and chains. We witnessed how they were beating, insulting, and torturing the innocent peacefully protesting people. We found that too much and we felt our pride and dignity were crushed. We don’t belong to any political party or any type of organization or anything else against the government.

However, seeing our people beaten and killed in that way has moved us a lot. My son who is 22 years old and who is a freshman in the Law Faculty in Damascus University has got extremely moved by these scenes of violence and torture against the innocent people, yet we left immediately. The next Friday we went to the same mosque to do our prayers. The same thing was repeated, but this time the security forces came accompanied by thugs who carried the same weapons mentioned before to kill the people and murder them. We left immediately as well.

My son Moataz told me: Dad this is not acceptable! These are our people and our brothers! What we are witnessing is blood not water! These are our people in Daraa and everywhere in Syria! We should join them!

I told him that we can’t face them because they are powerful and they have weapons and they can kill us at any moment.

He said: I prefer dying as a martyr rather than living like a cad watching our people getting killed everywhere. We want nothing except freedom to our country and joining these people to prevent the security forces from taking advantage of their small number .

Last Friday was calmer. However, this Friday 22nd of April, we went to Al Hassan Mosque in Maidan in Damascus. After the prayers people started protesting peacefully having nothing to face them with except our bare chests.

We left to Da’ara where we live. However, the streets were closed because of the protests. I stopped my car and we joined the protestors calling for freedom and peacefully protesting. We asked for nothing but our freedom and they answered us with bullets. My son got shot with 2 bullets. I tried to rescue him and get him a help for about 15 minutes. But the security forces and their thugs attacked me with their batons and you can see the marks on my back, head, arms, and leg. I just wanted an ambulance for him, but they prevented me and watched him in cold blood until he died before arriving at the hospital. He went out to support his Syrian people who are getting killed on the streets in the other cities.

As for those regime’s claims that there are armed gangs that are making this violence, I can tell you that we have never witnessed something like this. All the protestors were there peacefully carrying nothing, not even a small stick. All what they call “gangs” that we could see are not but the security forces of Bashar Assad and their thugs. This is the story in its details. There are no gangs. No armed people. No terrorists. No salafists. All of what they are saying is nothing but lies.

We are all peaceful armless people who went out calling for freedom and for releasing the prisoners who have been behind bars for the last 40 years. Is this wrong what we are claiming for? Calling for freedom is a blasphemy that the regime never forgive.

Also, his brothers have been arrested. One of them is 14 years old, and the second is 16 years old. They are both still arrested.

I can say nothing but promising my son to continue on his way. He gave his soul to his country and the wronged people in it. As you can see on the newspaper today is the date of today – April 22, 2011,