Protest human rights violations against the Syrian people: email the international criminal court
BACKGROUND
Shoot To Kill Commanders Named
Courtesy of Human Rights Watch
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(London) – Former Syrian soldiers identified by name 74 commanders and officials responsible for attacks on unarmed protesters, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The report names commanders and officials from the Syrian military and intelligence agencies who allegedly ordered, authorized, or condoned widespread killings, torture, and unlawful arrests during the 2011 anti-government protests. Human Rights Watch has urged the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and impose sanctions against the officials implicated in abuses.
The 88-page report, By All Means Necessary!’: Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria, is based on more than 60 interviews with defectors from the Syrian military and intelligence agencies. The defectors provided detailed information about their units’ participation in attacks, abuses against Syrian citizens, and the orders they received from commanders and officials at various levels, who are named in the report.
“Defectors gave us names, ranks, and positions of those who gave the orders to shoot and kill, and each and every official named in this report, up to the very highest levels of the Syrian government, should answer for their crimes against the Syrian people,” said Anna Neistat, associate director for emergencies at Human Rights Watch, and one of the authors of the report. “The Security Council should ensure accountability by referring Syria to the International Criminal Court.”
The defectors’ statements leave no doubt that the Syrian security forces committed widespread and systematic abuses, including killings, arbitrary detention, and torture, as part of a state policy targeting the civilian population, Human Rights Watch said. These abuses constitute crimes against humanity.
All of the defectors interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that their commanders gave standing orders to stop the overwhelmingly peaceful protests throughout the country “by all means necessary” during regular briefings to soldiers and armed units and prior to their deployment. The defectors said that they understood the phrase “by all means necessary” as an authorization to use lethal force, especially since they had been given live ammunition instead of other means of crowd control.
About half the defectors Human Rights Watch interviewed said the commanders of their units or other officers also gave them direct orders to open fire at protesters or bystanders, and reassured them that they would not be held accountable. In some cases, officers themselves participated in the killings.
“Amjad,” who was deployed to Daraa with the 35th Special Forces Regiment, said that he received direct verbal orders from his commander to open fire at the protestors on April 25:
For more shocking and outrageous revelations, click HERE.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Postal Address
Information and Evidence Unit
Office of the Prosecutor
Post Office Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands
Email Address
otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int
Telephone Number
31 (0)70 515 8515
Fax Number
31 70 515 8555
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SAMPLE LETTER
Information and Evidence Unit
Office of the Prosecutor
Post Office Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands
Dear Prosecutor,
Pursuant to Article 9 Section 2. (c) of UN General Assembly, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (last amended January 2002), 17 July 1998, A/CONF. 183/9, please begin an investigation of the 70 individuals named in Appendix 1 – Structure and Command of Armed forces and Intelligence Agencies in the report “By All Means Necessary!” published by the nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch in December of 2011 for crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. The Human Rights Watch report gives details of crimes defined in Articles 7 – Crimes against humanity, Article 8 – War crimes, and Article 8 bis – Crime of aggression of individual and command responsibility of Syrian military commanders and intelligence officials for these crimes. It is based on interviews with 63 defectors both from the army and from the intelligence agencies, generally known as the mukhabarat.
These violations continue as of the writing of this letter, or of the gravest nature, and necessary due to ineffective remedy by all other international bodies with the authority to stop them. Time is of the essence.
Please see the pdf report written by Human Rights Watch By All Means Necessary: Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes Against Humanity in Syria
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By All Means Necessary: Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes Against Humanity it Syria
syria a nation
in distress
its brave protestors
getting the worst
of this mess
dictatorship
living in fear
knowing they
they are not
wanted here
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Our Compass 
syria a nation
in distress
its brave protestors
getting the worst
of this mess
dictatorship
living in fear
knowing they
they are not
wanted here
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