Investigators quietly probe allegations of Syrian war crimes

[herding cats]

Source: NBC

In a drab office building in a European capital amid the sound of humming document scanners, a team of human rights lawyers is hard at work processing thousands of documents that they say link the Syrian government to war crimes.

The papers point to an unmistakable conclusion, according to those leading the effort: The government of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has violated the international rules of war through attacks on civilians, torture, rape, and the use of chemical weapons, among other crimes.

We have stronger evidence than we had for any past conflicts, any past tribunals, any past international justice efforts,” said Chris Engels, deputy director of the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, which has been documenting human rights abuses by Syrian officials since the start of the civil war in 2011.

According to CIJA adviser Stephen Rapp, the Syrian government meticulously documented its treatment of thousands of detainees — a product of its large bureaucracy. As a result, thousands of leaked photos mean prosecutors have far stronger evidence of war crimes than what existed to convict the Nazis at Nuremberg, said Rapp, the former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues under President Barack Obama.





Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/investigators-quietly-probe-allegations-syrian-war-crimes-n858641

[Blue_Tires]

1. I'm surprised this isn't getting more attention from the left

well actually, no I'm not...

[herding cats]

2. You'd think there'd be more discussion on this here.

They only show two pictures at NBC because the otheres were too graphic. What they were able to show was pretty damn horrific.

Caesar’s photos show emaciated corpses, many stripped naked, arrayed on the ground — some with gouged-out eyes, bloodied genitals, and severed fingers. Many show signs of bruises, burn marks, and gashes covering discolored skin. While most of the images are too graphic to air or publish, NBC News has included two below to illustrate the treatment thought to have been meted out to Syrian detainees.