‘Step towards justice’: US blames former military officers for abuses in Syria syrian war news
Rights monitors in the United States have hailed the US Justice Department’s indictment of two military officers accused of monitoring torture and ill-treatment as part of the ousted regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The indictment was unsealed on Monday, just a day after opposition groups entered Damascus and ousted al-Assad, charging former Syrian Air Force intelligence officers Jamil Hassan, 72, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, 65, with brutality against detainees under their control. And have been accused of inhumane treatment. “Including US citizens” in the detention center at Mezeh military airport in Damascus.
The notorious facility was one of several across Syria that rights groups say held victims of al-Assad’s crackdown on dissent amid the country’s 13-year civil war. This appears to be the first time that the US has sought to hold accountable through the court system individuals who participated in al-Assad’s vast military and intelligence apparatus.
The indictment did not name the U.S. citizens involved, but the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a Washington, D.C.-based organization that helped gather witness testimony in the case, said 26-year-old aid worker Laila Shweikani was. Among the victims of Hasan and Mahmud.
“Now is our time to capture these criminals and bring them to the United States for trial,” the group said in a statement.
As we await the liberation of Sayednaya Prison, I am thinking of those for whom today is too late.
Those whose names we don’t know and those whose names we do know, like Laila Shweikani, the 26-year-old Syrian-American aid worker who was hanged after a minute-long trial in 2016. pic.twitter.com/8ClSQooL5h
– Mai el-Sadany (@maitelsadany) 8 December 2024
Shweikani died in Syrian government custody in 2016, with the US confirming his death two years later. Yet advocates have long condemned government inaction amid calls for justice.
The SETF provided witness testimony to prosecutors that Shweikani was tortured at Mezeh military airport before being transferred to Sednaya military prison. Rights monitors say it was here that he was reportedly executed after a seconds-long military trial.
Among the witnesses who testified before the US government was Dina Kash, the aunt of SETF Executive Director Mouez Mustafa.
“Kash played an important role in bringing about these prosecutions because she was tortured by the same criminals as (Laila),” the group said in a statement. “When we capture these criminals, Dina will be a powerful witness among other brave Syrians testifying in a U.S. court about the murder of innocent civilians by the Assad regime’s thugs.”
The American Coalition for Syria also called the indictment “a historic step toward accountability.”
The group said it “welcomes the arrest warrant and hopes it will be a step towards achieving justice for the Shweikani family and all those who disappeared, were tortured and died in the Assad regime’s notorious prison Went”.
another window of abuse
Syrians and human rights monitors have sought a full account of those missing and killed by al-Assad’s government since opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized control of Damascus following a lightning strike on Sunday. Asking for a book. Country.
The events have thrown Syria’s future into uncertainty, raising questions about whether the takeover will translate into inclusive and peaceful civilian rule, or whether it will lead to more violence between the disparate groups that make up the opposition.
Other actors in the country, including ISIL (ISIS), also threaten to destabilize any new transition efforts. A new government began to take shape on Tuesday, with the appointment of a transitional prime minister.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would support any transition process that respects minority rights, prevents the spread of “terrorism” and secures and destroys any chemical weapons stockpiles held by al-Assad. Promises to destroy.
White House spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday that the administration of US President Joe Biden has been able to communicate with opposition groups and will continue to do so.
He said the US is continuously making efforts for information about American journalist Austin Tice, who was detained in Syria in 2012. According to the Syrian Network For, Tais is one of more than 135,000 people detained or disappeared by the al-Assad government since 2011. Human rights.
Opposition forces have already freed thousands of prisoners in their offensive, with families continuing to search the facilities for any evidence of loved ones.
The US indictment unsealed on Tuesday offered another window into the abuses they may have faced. It accused Syrian intelligence officers Hassan and Mahmoud of beating detainees with cables, hoses and pipes, breaking detainees’ teeth, stripping prisoners naked, giving them electric shocks, hanging them by the wrists and feet, and removing their toenails, among other acts. Accused of abuses.
The indictment also accused the pair of inflicting psychological torture under an “atmosphere of terror”. This included showing detainees’ blood on walls and bodies in cells and falsely claiming that their families had been killed or detained.
According to the US Department of Justice, the whereabouts of both men are unknown.
