Syria Special: The Resignation of Hama's Attorney General

The defection of such a high-ranking and well respected member of the regime, Adnan Bakour, is already sending shockwaves around Syria, and the globe. But perhaps just as important are the astonishing claims that Mr. Bakour makes, new rights abuse allegations that surpassed the scale of anything we've reported so far.

Among the claims: 72 prisoners have died in Hama's central prison (nearly matching Amnesty International's total of 88, a number that will surely rise). 420 people lie in a single mass grave, and Bakour was asked to testify that they had been killed by "armed gangs." 320 people have been tortured by security personnel, 17 of whom died. 10,000 peaceful protesters have been imprisoned in Hama alone.

These claims, if verified, will dramatically raise the death toll in Syria, and Hama, as they are not included in the number, 2200 according to the UN, of people who have died so far, most of them on the streets, not in the prisons. But Bakour's claims also send another shiver through those covering this story...

If these are only the numbers from Hama, how bad are things in Deir Ez Zor, occupied for weeks, or any of the other cities in Syria?

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