Woman Claims She Ran Away

A Syrian woman who was reportedly killed and mutilated while in the custody of security officials is alive and appeared on Syrian TV on Wednesday. Eighteen-year-old Zainab Alhusni was reportedly kidnapped by Syrian security officials in order to force her activist brother Mohammed to surrender. She was then reportedly killed and her body mutilated beyond recognition; her family even held a funeral for her. But Alhusni now says she ran away from home in late July. “I ran away because my brothers used to torture me and beat me,” she said. Her family confirmed that the woman on television is their daughter. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said, “It now appears that Zainab’s family misidentified the body that was presented to them due to the extensive damage to the body.” The groups also called for an independent investigation to determine the actual identity of the remains.