Syrian Coalition Calls for Regime to Face Trial Over Mass Civilian Abuses

Press Release

Syrian Coalition

Istanbul, Turkey

January 30, 2014

In light of yet more evidence the Damascus regime is enacting a policy of intentionally targeting civilians, the Syrian Coalition reiterates its call to try those responsible in front of the international criminal court.

Human Rights Watch published on Thursday further evidence of the Damascus regime’s strategy of inflicting suffering on civilians to force them to abandon calls for freedom and justice.

In the report titled Razed to the Ground; Syria’s Unlawful Neighbourhood Demolitions in 2012-13, which includes satellite imagery, witness statements along side video and photographic evidence, HRW says the regime’s actions violate the laws of war and intentionally punish civilians.

Brutalising civilians into abandoning calls for freedom is a central plank in the regime’s strategy. During talks in Geneva, it has done its utmost to sidestep calls to lift the siege on Homs. In the run up to the talks, leaked photographic images showed it was carrying out torture and summary executions on an industrial scale.

The ongoing litany of abuse demonstrates very clearly why the Assad regime must step aside and allow the emergence of a free Syria. The desperate attempts of a four-decade old regime to cling to power are the root cause of the violence engulfing the country.

A copy of the final report is available on the following link.