Sir, – Razan Ibraheem (Opinion & Analysis, June 9th) revealed the trauma endured by many Syrian refugees looking at what is going on in Gaza because it mirrors the crimes committed by President Bashar al-Assad since 2011, when he began crushing the peaceful uprising. However, while Razan stated the international community failed Syrians, we cannot forget that the struggle for accountability goes on, led by people like Anwar al-Bounni and Mazen Darwish, both human rights lawyers imprisoned and tortured by Assad.
A major victory in a French court only a couple of weeks ago proves the success of these Syrians seeking accountability, when three of the highest ranking existing and former members of Assad’s regime were tried and found guilty in abstentia, and sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Meanwhile, Assad has also been issued with an arrest warrant by another French court with three other top figures, including his own brother, for the use of chemical weapons – a crime against humanity.
Thanks to Anwar, Mazen and others a start has been made as we show in our documentary Bringing Assad to Justice. But the Assad regime is still running a notorious system of torture prisons, such as Saydnaya, which Amnesty International calls a “human slaughterhouse”.
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Over 100,000 disappeared persons remain unaccounted for.
Half the population were forced from their homes, and almost seven million like Razen were forced to flee the country as refugees or seek refuge in Idlib outside regime control. The death toll at this stage is hard to verify as the UN stopped counting years ago, but some claim it is now in excess of 600,000.
Meanwhile, the regime continues to attack Idlib with Russia. While the level of violence has diminished, returning refugees are also among those still being tortured and disappeared.
By not forgetting, and supporting Syrians pursuing accountability, we help protect civilians in all conflict zones in sending a clear message to all alleged war criminals, including in Israel/Gaza, that you will face accountability. – Yours, etc,
RONAN L TYNAN,
(Director,
Bringing Assad to Justice),
Dublin 3.