Court hearings of Syria’s torture case “critically important” – HRW
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Human Rights Watch said on Monday that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings on October 10-11 on torture committed by Syrian government are ‘critically important for advancing justice’.
On June 12, the ICJ reported that Canada and the Netherlands filed a joint application to the ICJ concerning violations of the Convention Against Torture in Syria, including ill treatment of detainees, arbitrary detentions, and enforced disappearances, among other things.
“The case brought by the Netherlands and Canada provides an important opportunity to scrutinize Syria’s long-standing heinous torture of countless civilians,” said Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
Given the fact the case may take several years to reach a final verdict, the Netherlands and Canada have filed a request for provisional measures aimed at putting an end for ongoing violations of the convention and supporting steps necessary for future accountability proceedings.
The Netherlands and Canada pushed for the implementation of the provisional measures, saying “Syria continues to commit torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and fails to take effective, ongoing measures to prevent and punish its occurrence.”
Torture in Syrian prisons is well-documented, including by the so-called Caesar files, which were smuggled out of the country by a whistleblower and showcase 6,786 victims of the Syrian government.