Free Republic

Hamza al-Khatib disappeared after his arrest on April 29 after an anti-government protest in Dera'a, where the rebellion was ignited by the arrest by police of children spray-painting revolutionary graffiti from Tunisia. Last Wednesday, however, the young boy reappeared, albeit no longer intact, and no longer alive. Syrian security forces returned his body to his parents on the condition they agreed to sign a form promising to bury his body immediately. Activists made sure to film detailed video footage of the 13-year-old's battered and bullet-riddled body, and to post that video on YouTube, before the boy was laid to rest....