--- description: Assad dismissed allegations of executions and torture as "fake news" and "propaganda" title: Bashar Assad: Amnesty Torture Report Is "Fake News" image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2a3f19831338c8e/6988b9cb8fd2eeae6e355bfc/bashar-al-assad.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Syria's Assad Brushes Off Amnesty Report on Prison Executions as 'Fake News' by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 11:09 PM CUTPublished: Feb 10, 2017 12:52 PM CUT  Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Yahoo News in this handout picture provided by SANA on Feb. 10, 2017. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Yahoo News in this handout picture provided by SANA on Feb. 10, 2017.Agencja Gazeta/Reuters by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 11:09 PM CUTPublished: Feb 10, 2017 12:52 PM CUT [Syrian President Bashar Assad has](https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-defiant-assad-tells-yahoo-news-torture-report-is-fake-news-100042667.html?soc%5Fsrc=social-sh&soc%5Ftrk=tw "undefined") dismissed [allegations of extensive human rights](https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/02/07/world/middleeast/ap-ml-syria-mass-hangings.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") violations at military prison outside of Damascus as “fake news.” The [Amnesty International](http://www.amnestyusa.org/ "undefined") report says that up to 13,000 prisoners were killed at the Saydnaya prison between 2011 and the end of 2015, Yahoo News reports. “You can forge anything these days,” Assad responded when shown the report during an interview with Yahoo News in Damascus. “We are living in a fake news era.” He was also shown an FBI report concluding that photo of bodies at one of his prisons were genuine. Assad dismissed this as “propaganda”. He added: “If the FBI says something, it’s not evidence for anyone.” The Syrian President also said that life was returning to normal in parts of Syria, including Damascus, as the intensity of the 5-year civil war diminishes. Amnesty’s report said that between 20 – 50 people a week were executed in a “calculated campaign of extrajudicial execution.” \[[_Yahoo News_](https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-defiant-assad-tells-yahoo-news-torture-report-is-fake-news-100042667.html?soc%5Fsrc=social-sh&soc%5Ftrk=tw "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4666806/assad_syria-amnesty-international/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4666806/assad_syria-amnesty-international/"},"headline":"Syria's Assad Brushes Off Amnesty Report on Prison Executions as 'Fake News'","datePublished":"2017-02-10T12:52:47.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T23:09:46.000Z","description":"Assad dismissed allegations of executions and torture as \"propaganda\"","url":"https://time.com/4666806/assad_syria-amnesty-international/","keywords":["Syria","Bashar Assad","Amnesty International","fake news","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2a3f19831338c8e/6988b9cb8fd2eeae6e355bfc/bashar-al-assad.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zamira Rahim","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2a3f19831338c8e/6988b9cb8fd2eeae6e355bfc/bashar-al-assad.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Yahoo News","caption":"Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Yahoo News in this handout picture provided by SANA on February 10, 2017, Syria. 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