Towards Accountability for International Crimes in Syria (1/2)
Channel: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Date: 09/11/2017

Concerted efforts by civil society, national prosecutors and international investigators

1) Welcoming remarks:
- Barbara Unmüßig, Heinrich-Böll Foundation
- Wolfgang Kaleck, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)

2) Further steps towards accountability: Survivors and civil society in collaboration: 
- Yazan Awad, Syrian torture survivor and claimant / Air Force Intelligence
- Shappal Ibrahim, Syrian torture survivor and claimant / Saydnaya detention
- Anwar al-Bunni, Syrian Center for Legal Research and Studies
- Tarek Hokan, Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression

Moderated by: Dr. Bente Scheller, Heinrich-Böll Foundation Beirut

3) Video: Saydnaya – Inside a Syrian Torture Prison by Forensic Architecture (20 minutes) with opening and closing remarks (5 min.) by Forensic Architecture

Introduction: Markus Beeko, Amnesty International Germany


As one of the few countries with pure universal jurisdiction legislation, Germany is playing a key role in the fight for accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. In the course of an ongoing structural investigation concerned with international crimes committed by the Syrian government, the Office of the German Federal Prosecutor heard testimonies from torture survivors who, together with Syrian lawyers Anwar al-Bunni (Syrian Center for Legal Research & Studies, SCLSR), Mazen Darwish (Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Speech, SCM) and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), filed a criminal complaint against senior officials in the Syrian Military Intelligence Service in March 2017. As a further step, the group around Syrian military defector “Caesar” filed a criminal complaint together with ECCHR in September 2017.

Thanks to the tireless work of Al-Bunni and Darwish and the support of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, ECCHR has since then worked on further criminal complaints addressing international crimes committed by the Syrian government in detention centers in various locations over the country.

On 8 November 2017, SCLSR, SCM, and ECCHR in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Amnesty International Germany, will bring together stakeholders from Syria as well as from the national and international level including Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the UN International Impartial Independent Mechanism Investigating Serious Crimes in Syria.

Together, we will reflect on the ongoing and possible future efforts for accountability in Syria. The first panel will be led by Syrian torture survivors and activists, who are at the heart of the criminal complaints in Germany against high-ranking officials of the Assad government. The second discussion will shed light on gaps in documentation and challenges of preserving evidence in the context of judicial action addressing international crimes committed in Syria.

In cooperation with: Syrian Center for Legal Research & Studies SCLSR, Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Speech SCM, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights ECCHR and Amnesty International.

Recording of the discussion evening on 8.11.2017 at the Heinrich Böll Foundation.