SJAC to monitor first trial of Senior Government Official

A German court has scheduled the first hearings in the ground-breaking trial of a former Syrian government official and his subordinate for acts of torture, the first criminal trial worldwide on state torture in Syria. The Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany has scheduled the trial of Anwar R. and Eyad A. to commence on […]

Public Health as a Weapon: Syria and COVID-19

COVID-19 has almost certainly reached Syria. The extent of the infection, however, has been completely shuttered from the outside world. Officially, the Syrian government claims zero confirmed cases, but the claim appears improbable given the spread of the virus across all of Syria’s neighbors. Notably, population movements, including high-level officials and fighters, continue between Syria […]

Europe’s Response to Refugees is Immoral and Unlawful

For months, leaders in Europe watched the crisis in Idlib unfold with routine condemnation and little action. European leaders were finally shaken from passivity on February 27, when Turkey announced that it would no longer stop refugees from crossing its borders into Europe, sparking a new wave of migration towards Europe. The action came hours […]

NEW REPORT: SJAC Reviews the State of Justice in Syria

On the eve of the 9th anniversary of the Syrian revolution, the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) has released “The State of Justice in Syria 2020,” the organization’s first annual review of justice efforts in the Syrian conflict. The report aims to keep the Syrian and international communities informed and engaged in justice efforts, […]

How to Prosecute a Militia Mouthpiece

On January 29, 2020, former senior official for Jaysh al-Islam Majidi Mustafa Ne’ma (known by his nom de guerre as Islam Alloush) was arrested in Marseille, France. Two days later, he was indicted by the war crimes unit of the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance for torture, enforced disappearances, enlistment of child soldiers, and complicity […]

The Caesar Act: Impacts and Implementation

In late December 2019, President Donald Trump signed a $738 billion defense policy bill that included legislation to further the existing sanctions regime targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies. Passed as part of the new law was the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, a nod to the pseudonym used by the Syrian military […]

SJAC Launches Missing Persons Program in Northeast Syria

SJAC, in collaboration with the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), has begun providing technical trainings in mass grave exhumation and documentation to the First Responders’ Team (FRT) working to open mass graves in Northeast Syria. These trainings are part of SJAC’s larger efforts to address the thousands of missing persons in the aftermath of ISIS’s […]

Syrians in Denmark Fear Losing Refugee Protections

While fears of forced return have long haunted Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, including Lebanon and Turkey, Syrians granted asylum in Western Europe have generally been protected. This has begun to change over the past year as Denmark has slowly eroded protections offered to Syrian asylum seekers, leading many Syrians in Denmark to fear losing […]

Syrian victims of Iranian crimes should not be overlooked

Foreign involvement in the Syrian conflict can be traced to every corner of the globe, including Russia, Turkey, the United States, and neighboring countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran. Although the Syrian government is responsible for the largest portion of violations, those committed or supported by foreign states should not be ignored. The recent […]

REPORT RELEASE: SJAC Unmasks Decision-Makers Behind ISIS Brutality

The ISIS Bureau of Justice & Grievances played a central role in the governance and decision-making of administrative, civil, and criminal matters, terrorizing local communities by facilitating the establishment of the organization’s draconian rule over parts of Syria and Iraq, said the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) in a new report published today. The […]