Doctors Coordinate of Damascus (sometimes called Damascus Doctors) is a network of health care workers that provides clandestine medical aid to injured civilians of the Syrian Civil War. The group treats bystanders cut off from regular medical care by the ongoing violence as well as injured protesters who would be at risk during the regular security sweeps of local hospitals. According to

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, injured protesters face arrest and torture if found in Syrian hospitals, and in some cases medical staff has even participated in the torture of the patients. In other cases, injured opposition members have been forcibly disconnected from medical equipment, including respirators. In the summer of 2011, the Doctors Coordinate constructed a clandestine field hospital to treat the growing number of wounded. One of the organization's founders, Dr. Ibrahim Othman, became one of the Syrian government's most wanted men for his work with the group. On 11 December 2011, opposition forces announced that he had been killed by Syrian security forces while attempting to flee to Turkey. In 2011, the Czech NGO

People in Need People in Need (PIN) ( cz, Člověk v tísni) is a Czech nonprofit, non-governmental organisation based in Prague, Czech Republic. PIN implements humanitarian relief and long term development projects, educational programmes, and human rights pr ...

awarded the group its

Homo Homini Award The Homo Homini Award (Latin: "A human to another human") is given annually by the Czech human rights organization People in Need to "an individual in recognition of a dedication to the promotion of human rights, democracy and non-violent solutions ...

, recognizing "the outstanding courage and effort they demonstrate when they put their own lives at risk to help civilians who have been injured as a result of brutal repression by the current Syrian regime."

References

{{Syrian uprising (2011–present) Clandestine groups Medical and health organizations based in Syria Organizations established in 2011 Organizations of the Syrian civil war