Below is our original report...

A graphic video of the corpse of a 13-year-old boy who appears to have been sexually and physically tortured by Syrian security officials has sparked international condemnation and riots across the country. The video (see still pic above) shows Hamza Ali al-Khatib, a resident of the southern village of Jiza, and appears to have been filmed by his family after they retrieved his corpse.

The torture that the prepubescent al-Khatib appears to have been subjected to is unimaginable. His penis was severed, body is covered in bullet holes and cigarette burns, chest is covered in a massive burn mark, neck broken, kneecaps shattered, and face covered in bruises from repeated punches. Al-Khatib was taken into custody while attending an anti-government protest.

Al-Khatib's death appears to have galvanized Syrians. The death and horrific torture of a 13-year-old child, spread via social media, has spawned protests by shocked ordinary citizens. While the sadistic interrogation and punishment methods used by state security and military services have been an open secret for quite some time, the Arab Spring has bought discontent against the al-Assad government into the open.

The video clip is playing out almost like a funeral of Emmett Till for the age of social media. In the Emmett Till case, an open casket funeral was used to demonstrate the brutalities of Southern racism. In this case, al-Khatib's family appears to be using their son's death to demonstrate the brutality of Syrian security services to a worldwide audience. While it is unlikely that al-Khatib would have been out in the streets protesting if not for the ongoing chaos of the Arab Spring, the torture methods that appear to have been used on him have been a routine part of the Syrian security arsenal for decades. The message, amplified by social media, appears to be resonating with Syrians.

In the city of Amouda, a mass rally of children shouting “We Are All Hamza!” marched through the streets on Tuesday, May 31 while also chanting slogans against the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's government has already began damage control for the al-Khatib video. The official Syrian Arab News Agency released a long English-language feature claiming that al-Khatib's father absolved Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of all crimes, called him “gentle and kind” and then claimed the boy's injuries were the result of being shot by anti-government protesters. As for the rest of al-Khatib's extensive injuries that weren't bullet wounds? According to the official Syrian party line, the burn marks, severed penis, broken kneecaps, and snapped neck simply didn't exist.

Al-Khatib's injuries are consistent with a Human Rights Watch report on torture methods by Syrian security and intelligence services that was issued in April 2011.