Inside the Raslan Trial: “I know this man…but he is not Abu Ghadab”

TRIAL OF ANWAR RASLAN and EYAD AL GHARIB Higher Regional Court – Koblenz, Germany Trial Monitoring Report 23 Hearing dates of January 6 and 7, 2021 To read this report as a PDF, click here.   CAUTION: Some testimony includes descriptions of torture.  Summary / Highlights:1 Trial Day 53 – January 6, 2021 P25, a 30-year-old, who was detained […]

Inside the Raslan Trial: Pregnant at Al-Khatib

TRIAL OF ANWAR RASLAN and EYAD AL GHARIB Higher Regional Court – Koblenz, Germany Trial Monitoring Report 22 Hearing Date: December 16, 2020 To read this report as a PDF, click here.   CAUTION: Some testimony includes descriptions of torture.    Summaries/Highlights:1 Trial Day 52 – December 16, 2020 P24, a 41–year–old female witness testified on her detention at Branch 251 and Division […]

Can Russia be held accountable for its violations in Syria?

  Russia has not only continued to veto possible ways of holding the Syrian government accountable for its atrocities, it has also taken an active role in the Syrian conflict. A recent 200-page report by Russian activists details the various human rights violations and international crimes that the parties to the conflict, among them Russia, have been committing. Despite repeated calls by the United Nations and other states, Russia […]

A Tribunal for ISIS Fighters – a National Security and Human Rights Emergency

  *The full version of this article was published by Just Security. One of the most vexing challenges faced in northeast Syria is what to do with some 10,000 ISIS fighters as well as 60,000 women and children left behind after the territorial defeat of ISIS. These individuals are detained in a network of prisons and […]

Brussels Conference Attendees Should Call for EU Member-States and Agencies to End Policies that Risk the Deportation of Refugees to Syria

The Brussels Conference provides an opportunity for European Union member-states to voice their support for negotiated peace in Syria and to pledge humanitarian aid for communities devastated by the ten-year conflict, both within Syria and in host countries. This past year, however, European states have not fulfilled their own obligations as host states to protect […]

Inside the Raslan Trial: “There was always hope and fear”

TRIAL OF ANWAR RASLAN and EYAD AL GHARIB Higher Regional Court – Koblenz, Germany Trial Monitoring Report 21 Hearing Dates: December 9 & 10, 2020 To read this report as a PDF, click here.   CAUTION: Some testimony includes descriptions of torture.    Summaries/Highlights:1 Trial Day 50 – December 09, 2020 The court heard the […]

Blackboxing Justice: Greater transparency needed in German universal jurisdiction trials

On April 23, 2020, Germany was commended on the start of “the world’s first trial on state-torture”. Still, close observers of the trial of Anwar R. and Eyad A. (Koblenz trial) have noticed some underlying issues common to German trials under universal jurisdiction (UJ). Other trials currently underway in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf support the image that in seeking accountability for perpetrators of international crimes, Germany should enable greater transparency and inclusivity for the survivors of the crimes. Public Access  Significant efforts […]

Inside the Raslan Trial: The Al-Gharib Verdict in Detail

TRIAL OF ANWAR RASLAN and EYAD AL GHARIB Higher Regional Court – Koblenz, Germany Trial Monitoring Report 28 Hearing Date: February 24, 2021 A full PDF of this report is available, here. All reports and witness lists are available, here.   CAUTION: Some testimony includes descriptions of torture.   Summaries/Highlights:[1] Trial Day 62 – February 24, […]

New Justice Charter Gives Voice to Victims’ Demands

On February 17, 2021, a group of victim and family-led organizations working for justice for detainees and missing persons launched ‘The Charter for Truth and Justice.’ The Charter presents a unified vision for justice for the crimes of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance in Syria and includes a list of consolidated demands. The document aims […]

New Report: The State of Justice in Syria, 2021

March 15, 2021 marks the tenth anniversary of the conflict in Syria. While initial steps towards pursuing justice for survivors of human rights abuses have begun, there is still a long road to achieving justice and accountability for Syrians. On the eve of this anniversary, the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) has launched its […]