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| 22-February-2022 |
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and UK barrister Haydee Dijkstal have filed a request to the International Criminal Court to open an examination into the Islamic regime of Iran’s role in war crimes in Syria.
Clearly, the Russian, US and Turkish governments have played a role but the focus on Iran is crucial given its crimes as documented by Syrian refugees in Jordan. Their being in Jordan is key, given that the Iranian and Syrian regimes are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court but Jordan is which permits the request under international law.
It is common knowledge that the regime has provided combat troops and spent tens of billions of dollars to arm, train and equip Assad’s forces as well as Iran-back militia groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah in order to suppress the revolution and safeguard Asad’s regime.
What’s important, though, is that this is the first attempt to hold the Iranian regime accountable in an international court for its crimes in Syria. It also crucially highlights the extent of the regime’s war crimes, including in helping to suppress protests and oversee the torture and execution of opponents in Syrian prisons, as well as starving populations and forcibly displacing them.
This latest attempt is a continuation of demands for accountability and justice, including via people’s courts such as the Iran and Aban Tribunals. It is one more testament to the decades of the regime’s crimes against people in Iran, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Crimes that will not be forgiven or forgotten.
It is common knowledge that the regime has provided combat troops and spent tens of billions of dollars to arm, train and equip Assad’s forces as well as Iran-back militia groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah in order to suppress the revolution and safeguard Asad’s regime.
What’s important, though, is that this is the first attempt to hold the Iranian regime accountable in an international court for its crimes in Syria. It also crucially highlights the extent of the regime’s war crimes, including in helping to suppress protests and oversee the torture and execution of opponents in Syrian prisons, as well as starving populations and forcibly displacing them.
This latest attempt is a continuation of demands for accountability and justice, including via people’s courts such as the Iran and Aban Tribunals. It is one more testament to the decades of the regime’s crimes against people in Iran, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Crimes that will not be forgiven or forgotten.
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| Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born activist and Spokesperson of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All. |
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