Syria
This photograph taken in Damascus on July 16, 2023 shows Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaking during a press conference. Photo: Louai Beshara/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday is set to rule on the case filed by the Netherlands and Canada on the accusations of torture and human rights violations by the Syrian regime against its people since the start of the civil war.
The case marks the ICJ’s first legal proceeding on the Syrian civil war.
The Netherlands and Canada have accused the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of “countless violations of international law,” including the UN Convention against Torture to which Damascus is a party, according to a document from the ICJ.
The court ruling is set to be delivered a day after France issued an arrest warrant for Assad for complicity in war crimes in relation to the use of chemical weapons against civilians in the country.
Syrian detainees in October delivered graphic testimonies of physical assault and sexual violence committed against them by the Syrian regime before the judges at the Hague-based court. Damascus did not attend the hearing.
The countries filed their joint application in June, asking the court to take legal measures against the Syrian regime, after more than two years of negotiation and attempts to reach a settlement with Damascus did not yield any results.
Amsterdam and Ottawa also called on the ICJ to pursue provisional measures for Damascus to cease its torture and ill-treatment of the Syrian people while the case is being decided.
Germany has convicted two Syrian regime officials of accessory to crimes against humanity linked to the civil war since 2021.
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