The “Beatles” on Trial: Obtaining justice for victims of foreign ISIS fighters

It is increasingly likely that two ISIS fighters, involved in the killing of several Americans, will be brought to trial in a courtroom in Virginia. The development comes as Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to the United Kingdom home secretary assuring her that the United States would not seek or enforce the death […]

PRESS RELEASE: New campaign reveals mass graves continue to be discovered in northeast Syria

Five mass graves found this year alone with many more expected to be uncovered  Twenty-eight mass graves have been discovered since the territorial defeat of ISIS in northeast Syria three years ago, report local First Responders who continue to exhume new graves in the search for thousands of missing people. Fifty-seven former detention centres where […]

Syria Sanctions: a deeper look at the Caesar Act designations

The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, often referred to simply as the Caesar Act, officially entered into force on June 17, 2020. The law, which provides the American government with a legal basis to impose sanctions not only on Syrian government entities, but also on third-party individuals and entities providing direct or indirect assistance to […]

Inside the Raslan trial: Torture, an Insider Witness, and Facebook

TRIAL OF ANWAR RASLAN and EYAD AL GHARIB Higher Regional Court – Koblenz, Germany Trial Monitoring Report 6 Hearing dates of July 1, 2, 3, & 6, 2020 CAUTION: Some testimony includes descriptions of torture. [Information located in brackets are notes from our court monitor]. (Information located in parentheses is information stated by the witness, […]

Law No. 7 in NE Syria: Protection of Property Rights or a Tool for Appropriation

On August 5, the Autonomous Administration of Northeast Syria issued law no: 7/2020, which concerns the protection and management of property belonging to absentee landowners in the region, through a specialized committee. The Autonomous Administration claims that this law aims to preserve and protect property and legalize this process. However, they suspended the law just […]

Aid for Victims of Beirut’s Explosion Must Include Syrian Refugees

The explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at a port in Beirut on August 4 decimated a large section of the city and has left hundreds of thousands homeless and nearly 200 dead. Of that number, at least 34 of the dead are reported to be Syrian refugees. UNHCR is conducting assessments in the […]

PRESS RELEASE: Syrian journalist and human rights organization secure access to Arabic translation of the Anwar Raslan trial

  Berlin/Koblenz, 19 August 2020 – Accredited Arabic-speaking journalists will finally have access to simultaneous German-Arabic interpretation during the world’s first trial on Syrian state torture before the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany. This was ordered by the German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe on 18 August 2020. In doing so, the court granted the […]