( dpa ) - Syria rejected Wednesday criticism of its human rights record in the annual report of the US State Department, which listed the Arab country as one of the world's worst human rights violators.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the report was not objective but based on political considerations.
"If the US administration was guided by objectivity in its report, it would have placed itself among the worst violators of human rights," the statement said.
The ministry cited several examples of human rights violations it claimed have been committed by the US during its so-called war on terrorism, including abuses by US army personnel uncovered in 2004 in the Abu Ghraib detention centre in Iraq.
The US report lists Syria among the 10 countries deemed the world's worst offenders. The others are Iran, Sudan, North Korea, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Belarus, Eritrea and Uzbekistan.
Syria accused the US of practicing double standards by ignoring human rights abuses committed by Israel during its recent offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The Syrian authorities have detained many dissidents and human rights activists, including 13 members of the country's nascent pro- democracy movement.