UN: Bashar al-Assad Must Appear in Court and Be Held Accountable for Crimes
ARK News.. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has described the start of the trial of ousted Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad and figures from his regime in Damascus—most of which is being conducted in absentia—as a “significant first step.”
During a press conference held by the UN office in Geneva, the commission’s spokesperson, Thameen al-Khitan, said that “the painful scenes of grieving mothers shedding tears inside the courtroom bear witness to the urgent need for a transitional justice process that places victims at the center of its priorities.”
Al-Khitan stressed that Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and all those being tried in absentia must ultimately appear before the court in person and be held accountable for the full scope of crimes and violations they committed.
The spokesperson also referred to the case of Amjad Youssef, stating that the “horrific massacre he orchestrated in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus in 2013 requires full accountability.”
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