News briefing
By: Committee for Justice
Geneva: December 20th 2023
United Nations experts have expressed their deep concerns about allegations regarding the killing of more than 280 civilians in the Al-Tadamon region of the Syrian Arab Republic in April 2013, revelations of which surfaced in 2022. There has been an absence of investigations and judicial proceedings following these atrocities, and the alleged perpetrators continue to evade punishment.
– Extrajudicial Executions:
The experts clarified in a memo sent to the Assad government in Syria on October 18, 2023, which has not yet been responded to, that on April 16, 2013, it was alleged that Military Branch 227, a unit of the Syrian military intelligence, conducted an operation in the Al-Tadamon neighborhood – a district in southern Damascus. This led to the killing of more than 280 to about 350 civilian victims, including at least twelve children. The killings are alleged to have occurred in the southeastern part of the neighborhood, in an area under the control and authority of the Assad government, near Osman Mosque on Daaboul Street.
The experts added that the victims were blindfolded and their hands tied, then led to a pit where they were executed by individuals in military attire. After the execution, the victims were left in a mass grave near the site of the killing, and their bodies were burned and hidden under the rubble.
– Impunity for the Perpetrators:
The experts pointed out that one of the individuals responsible for these extrajudicial executions was identified as the deputy commander of Military Branch 227 at the time of the incident. Despite his direct involvement and public identification and acknowledgment; it appears that he enjoys impunity. Reports indicate that he now works as a non-commissioned officer in Military Branch 227 in a detention center managed by the branch in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood of Damascus.
The experts emphasized that there are numerous legal and institutional barriers inherent in Syrian legislation and government policies that prevent accountability for crimes, even those as significant as the Al-Tadamon incident.
The experts expressed concern that the Al-Tadamon incident and the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators are symbolic examples of the widespread and systematic repression in Syria.
– United Nations Demands from the Assad Government:
The experts called on the Assad government to provide information about any investigations or judicial proceedings conducted in the Al-Tadamon incident, including search and investigation activities in the mass grave said to be associated with these atrocities. They also requested explanations in case there were no such investigations or proceedings, and whether those investigations complied with the standards set by the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death.
Additionally, the experts requested the Assad government to provide factual and legal justifications for the arrest and detention of individuals deprived of their freedom who were subsequently executed, along with clarification on the legislation that grants effective immunity to military personnel and other state officials.
The experts also demanded clarification on whether the Assad government would take measures to recognize the independent crime of enforced disappearance and consider joining the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
