Statement regarding the judgment issued against Anurslan
As an organization, we welcome the verdict issued by the court against a former Syrian intelligence officer, Bertia Alia, who was responsible for crimes against humanity, and this ruling is one of the steps towards accountability and justice.
But frankly, in my opinion, despite the importance of the ruling that will be issued, it is still below the ambition of the Syrian people, because the ambition of the Syrian people is that justice be comprehensive for all violators, not just the dissident violators.
Also, despite the importance of this step, this step is individual and international efforts must be combined in order to prosecute the criminals who are still on the job.
- Anur Raslan is a dissident officer and will be held accountable for the period prior to the defection, but the main criminals, the heads of the security forces and the leaders of the divisions are still at the head of their work and are still beating international and local laws, taking advantage of the shortcomings and inability of the international organization to interrogate them or the lack of intention of the international system to hold them accountable as long as they are still at the head of their work Despite the full imata that accountability by the European Union is in the interest of Europe and its people, because impunity will produce a generation of violators and a generation of victims that will generate and in itself a culture of revenge and extremism, and the effects of extremism may extend to the European Union itself directly or indirectly through waves Asylum that the European Union is unable to absorb due to the large number of refugees fleeing death and abuses
As we work in the field, we can always identify key witnesses when we are able to document effectively
According to the international standards required in the mechanisms of international justice -
We also have access to individuals who wish to tell their stories to the criminal justice mechanisms, and we, as human rights organizations working on the ground, have contacts with potential witnesses before the existence of these international mechanisms or when these mechanisms are unable to reach these people
We as organizations have the ability to quickly direct justice mechanisms staff to important individuals and encourage affected communities to participate in the criminal justice mechanisms process - and provide psychosocial care services, legal advice, basic assistance in resettlement and most importantly
It is contextual knowledge where it is important for officials in justice mechanisms to listen to organizations working in the field because of the ability to provide documentation and information about the conflict that cannot be provided in other ways, as well as having a methodology for collecting information
It is important here to mention the most important lessons learned from the trial:
It was the Caesar photographs that enriched the case, shed light on the extent of torture and indications of how digital evidence could be used in future international crimes trials.
- Germany and all European countries should take the experience of this trial as an educational experience to build on in future cases
Finally, we can talk about some recommendations regarding this trial
Countries that apply universal jurisdiction must take into account the full range of perpetrators of atrocity crimes and prosecute all those implicated in international crimes
There must be a comprehensive plan in the awareness-raising process for the most affected victims of the alleged crimes, providing interpretation services, and providing access to court hearings and causal decisions.
The priorities of the victims must be taken into account before the trial
Courts operating on universal jurisdiction should receive additional support and capacity-building to deal appropriately with the circumstances surrounding trials conducted under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Deficiency of witness protection programs. Many witnesses expressed their concern for their safety and the safety of their families who are still living in Syria, and the court was reluctant to issue orders to provide witness protection measures.
finally"
The ruling that was issued is in our favour, as a public interest, in the interest of the victims, the private stakeholders, and at the level of the organization, its team, and Syrians, we learned lessons on how to deal with a court on an international level with the topics of evidence, digital evidence, Caesar photos, witnesses, and on a national level in the future.
So, it is a positive step, but as Syrians, we are waiting for more steps to hold the most dangerous criminals accountable for the most severe violations and to establish real mechanisms to hold them accountable on a comprehensive level that prevents impunity and thus constitutes a factor of private and public deterrence so that it does not beg for any other exhausted person to think of committing crimes if he knows that accountability and accountability will pursue him, if not On a national level, it will be on an international level, and this can only be achieved with the presence of the appropriate comprehensive mechanism to hold criminals accountable and with the intention to be held accountable by the international system. And then accountability for it secondly. To prevent recurrence and the factor of public and private deterrence.
Lawyer: Suleiman Issa
Executive Director of Human Rights Defenders
