Delegation from The Commission for International Justice and Accountability Visits SANA
SANA, Damascus | A delegation from The Commission for International Justice and Accountability(CIJA), visited the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) and met with a number of its staff, and gave a presentation on the commission’s most prominent tasks, statistics, and documentation of crimes and violations perpetrated by the Assad ousted regime over the past years.
Read more:
SANA, Damascus | A delegation from The Commission for International Justice and Accountability(CIJA), visited the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) and met with a number of its staff, and gave a presentation on the commission’s most prominent tasks, statistics, and documentation of crimes and violations perpetrated by the Assad ousted regime over the past years.
Read more:
BBC Today interview with Bill Wiley
BBC | Bill Wiley, Executive Director of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, joined Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme to discuss the current security situation in Syria, aired on 01 May 2025.
BBC | Bill Wiley, Executive Director of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, joined Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme to discuss the current security situation in Syria, aired on 01 May 2025.
Global Justice honors US Ambassador for War Crimes Stephen Rapp in Damascus
Sana News, Damascus | The Annual Global Justice Award conference was held Wednesday to honor honoring of US Ambassador for War Crimes Stephen Rapp.
“CIJA is proud to share that our Chair, Ambassador Stephen Rapp, has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to advancing justice in Syria. This honour reflects his unwavering commitment to accountability and exposing the former regime’s crimes against the Syrian people. Our heartfelt thanks to all of our partners and communities whose continued support makes this work possible. CIJA remains steadfast in our mission to help build a just and peaceful Syria grounded in the rule of law.”
Sana News, Damascus | The Annual Global Justice Award conference was held Wednesday to honor honoring of US Ambassador for War Crimes Stephen Rapp.
From CIJA LinkedIn:
“CIJA is proud to share that our Chair, Ambassador Stephen Rapp, has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to advancing justice in Syria. This honour reflects his unwavering commitment to accountability and exposing the former regime’s crimes against the Syrian people. Our heartfelt thanks to all of our partners and communities whose continued support makes this work possible. CIJA remains steadfast in our mission to help build a just and peaceful Syria grounded in the rule of law.”
Five jihadists found guilty of holding French journalists hostage
Sky News | Report on the conviction and life sentence of Mehdi Nemmouche, a terrorist linked to Daesh, by the Paris Special Court. Nemmouche and four others were convicted for kidnapping and holding four journalists hostage. CIJA played a vital role in securing this conviction by providing physical evidence and courtroom testimony.
Sky News | Report on the conviction and life sentence of Mehdi Nemmouche, a terrorist linked to Daesh, by the Paris Special Court. Nemmouche and four others were convicted for kidnapping and holding four journalists hostage. CIJA played a vital role in securing this conviction by providing physical evidence and courtroom testimony.
Canadian-led team is building a case against al-Assad over his regime’s war crimes in Syria
Globe and Mail | Detailed interviews with "Adel", CIJA’s Chief Investigator in Syria and Bill Wiley on the opportunities to preserve evidence now available across the country, by Mark Mackinnon
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-syria-bashar-al-assad-regime-war-crimes-case/
Globe and Mail | Detailed interviews with "Adel", CIJA’s Chief Investigator in Syria and Bill Wiley on the opportunities to preserve evidence now available across the country, by Mark Mackinnon
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-syria-bashar-al-assad-regime-war-crimes-case/
1 million files: How one group is helping expose Syrian regime’s war crimes
Andalou Agency | “There is hope that those future accountability and justice processes will be happening in Syria” Nerma Jelacic spoke to Rabia Ali
Andalou Agency | “There is hope that those future accountability and justice processes will be happening in Syria” Nerma Jelacic spoke to Rabia Ali
Syria Confronts an Immense Challenge: Justice for Assad Regime Crimes
New York Times |Nerma Jelacic and Stephen Rapp spoke with Vivian Yee about the accountability choices facing Syria:
"Syrians will need time and many discussions to design a sound accountability process, said Nerma Jelacic of The Commission for International Justice and Accountability, which has been gathering evidence against Syrian regime figures for years."
New York Times |Nerma Jelacic and Stephen Rapp spoke with Vivian Yee about the accountability choices facing Syria:
"Syrians will need time and many discussions to design a sound accountability process, said Nerma Jelacic of The Commission for International Justice and Accountability, which has been gathering evidence against Syrian regime figures for years."
Zij willen Assad vervolgen: ‘Zijn regime was vergelijkbaar met de goelags van Stalin’
Volkskrant | [Dutch] William Wiley spoke to Remco Anderson about the role of justice in ensuring accountability for the scale of the Syrian Regime’s crimes:
"Assad's Regime was comparable to Stalin's Gulags".
Volkskrant | [Dutch] William Wiley spoke to Remco Anderson about the role of justice in ensuring accountability for the scale of the Syrian Regime’s crimes:
"Assad's Regime was comparable to Stalin's Gulags".
Investigators race to secure evidence of atrocities by Syria’s Assad regime
Financial Times | William Wiley spoke to the Financial Times about the challenges Syrians face in preserving evidence for overall accountability efforts:
“While it’s perfectly understandable that distressed families rushed in to try and find their loved ones, it’s going to make it that much harder for the overall mission of accountability if we lose key pieces of evidence”.
Financial Times | William Wiley spoke to the Financial Times about the challenges Syrians face in preserving evidence for overall accountability efforts:
“While it’s perfectly understandable that distressed families rushed in to try and find their loved ones, it’s going to make it that much harder for the overall mission of accountability if we lose key pieces of evidence”.
What lies ahead for Assad loyalists?
TRT World | Nerma Jelacic spoke to TRT World about the importance of preserving the huge amounts of evidence that is now available, in order that it may support future accountability efforts.
TRT World | Nerma Jelacic spoke to TRT World about the importance of preserving the huge amounts of evidence that is now available, in order that it may support future accountability efforts.
Syrerne vil have al-Assad og andre dømt. Men vejen til retfærdighed kan blive lang og trang
Information | [Danish + English] Legal experts and human rights groups fear that documents from prisons and institutions could be compromised by the media and victims’ relatives. Uncertainty looms over a forthcoming legal reckoning.
Information | [Danish + English] Legal experts and human rights groups fear that documents from prisons and institutions could be compromised by the media and victims’ relatives. Uncertainty looms over a forthcoming legal reckoning.
English [AI translation] https://mburcharth.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/the-syrians-want-al-assad-and-others-held-accountable-but-the-road-to-justice-may-be-long-and-arduous/
Will Assad be brought to justice?
BBC | Owen Bennet Jones spoke to Stephen Rapp, CIJA Commissioner about the prospects of Assad facing justice: "We should never say never. Milosevic, Taylor, Mladic & others thought they would escape justice & eventually countries surrendered these butchers to face justice".
BBC | Owen Bennet Jones spoke to Stephen Rapp, CIJA Commissioner about the prospects of Assad facing justice: "We should never say never. Milosevic, Taylor, Mladic & others thought they would escape justice & eventually countries surrendered these butchers to face justice".
Mass graves found near Syria’s capital could contain thousands of bodies
Mass graves found near Syria’s capital could contain thousands of bodies
Al Jazeera | As the magnitude of the Regime's violence begins to emerge Nerma Jelacic spoke to Al Jazeera on the importance of securing Regime-produced evidence, the readiness of CIJA's Syrian investigators to do so & their contribution to Syrian justice.
Watch at 2'20:
Justice for the victims of Assad’s atrocities in Syria
Financial Times | Recognition on the importance of the ground presence of CIJA’s Syrian investigators in securing evidence of the Regime’s criminality, spanning over 50 years.
Financial Times | Recognition on the importance of the ground presence of CIJA’s Syrian investigators in securing evidence of the Regime’s criminality, spanning over 50 years:
https://www.ft.com/content/f1f342b7-9258-4034-af08-6cb20c57e673
“In Bananenkisten versteckt und zur Grenze gefahren“: Wie Anwälte in Syrien Assads Verbrechen dokumentieren
Tagesspiegel | [German] A CIJA investigator and Director of External Relations spoke with Tagesspiegel on the work to secure evidence of Regime command and control structures.
Tagesspiegel | [German] A CIJA investigator and Director of External Relations spoke with Tagesspiegel on the work to secure evidence of Regime command and control structures:
"As an investigator, I conducted interviews with defectors from the regime and those affected" writes Mohammed an investigator for CIJA.
‘Bigger than Nuremberg’: the secret files that could jail Assad
The Times | Christina Lamb spoke to William Wiley on the scale of the Assad regime’s machinery of death, spanning more than 50 years.
The Times | Christina Lamb spoke to William Wiley on the scale of the Assad regime’s machinery of death, spanning more than 50 years:
“This is the most documented repression in history... Like the Nazis but with computers.”
https://www.thetimes.com/article/939efdbb-e1e8-44e2-9ad1-2eef7eeeb87a
Rights Groups See a Chance to Seek Justice for Syrian Regime’s Victims
New York Times |Nerma Jelacic, Director of External Relations spoke with Mathew Mboke Bigg about the documents collected by CIJA that link Assad’s senior-most officials to the prisons and detention centres operating across the country.
New York Times |Nerma Jelacic, Director of External Relations spoke with Mathew Mboke Bigg about the documents collected by CIJA that link Assad’s senior-most officials to the prisons and detention centres operating across the country:
“Even before he fell from power, we already had enough documents to show beyond reasonable doubt his real power over the machinery of death that the Syrian state was”.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/world/middleeast/syria-assad-regime-crimes.html
‘The worst atrocities of the 21st century’ were committed in Syria, says former U.S. war crimes official
CNN | Stephen Rapp, CIJA’s Chairperson, spoke to Bianna Golodryga on the importance of achieving justice in Syria, including through the millions of documents produced by the Regime.
CNN | Stephen Rapp, CIJA’s Chairperson, spoke to Bianna Golodryga on the importance of achieving justice in Syria, including through the millions of documents produced by the Regime:
Sky News | Mark Austin interview with CIJA Executive Director
William Wiley spoke to Sky News following the fall of the Syrian Regime and the flight of Assad and his senior-most officials from Syria.
William Wiley spoke to Sky News following the fall of the Syrian Regime and the flight of Assad and his senior-most officials from Syria.
Syrian leader offers reward for details of Assad officials involved in war crimes
The Guardian | Julian Borger and Harry Davies spoke with William Wiley, CIJA Executive Director on the justice opportunities and challenges in collecting evidence in Syria following the Regime’s fall.
The Guardian | Julian Borger and Harry Davies spoke with William Wiley, CIJA Executive Director on the justice opportunities and challenges in collecting evidence in Syria following the Regime’s fall:
“It’s a situation much like Germany in 1945 or Iraq in 2003. You have a sudden availability of all state records”.