Syrian human rights lawyer, Anwar al-Bunni, said that nine former Syrian prisoners who fled to Sweden have filed lawsuits against 25 officers in the security apparatus of the Bashar al-Assad regime, claiming they are responsible for torture and forced concealment.
Bunni confirmed that his Caesar Families Group is in cooperation with the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression and the Syrian Center for Human Rights Studies, with the support of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and Civil Rights Defenders in Sweden. Bunni described this move as, “a step on the road towards justice for Syria” in Sweden, which has universal jurisdiction, and must use it to prosecute war criminals and crimes against humanity.
Bunni stressed that these groups and others are continuing their work and in filing lawsuits against security officials who have perpetrated or participated in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, “so that Syria will be free of them and they will be put behind bars.”
In 2018, the first international arrest warrant for General Jamil Hassan, Director of the Air Intelligence Directorate, was issued by a German prosecutor, on charges of ordering the massacre of Syrians.
He described the issuing of the arrest warrant as, “the first real step to achieving justice for the Syrians,” adding that it was issued with the efforts of witnesses, adding that they are awaiting other arrest warrants against “the rest of the criminals in Syria,” headed by Bashar al-Assad.
On Nov. 5, 2018, it was announced that Syrian human rights defenders had managed to have arrest warrants issued against three regime intelligence officials: Jamil Hassan, Director of the Air Intelligence Directorate, Ali Mamlouk, Director of National Security, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, head of the Investigation Branch In the Air Force, who are considered Assad’s arms, and accused by the Syrian opposition of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Since the start of the protests against the regime, the latter has filled its secret and public prisons with tens of thousands of opposition detainees, with the fate of many still unknown.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
