Germany demands justice for victims of Assad regime
‘We're here to make it clear that we also support the people here in Syria when it comes to the issue of evidence collection, justice and the investigation of these terrible crimes,” Foreign Minister Baerbock says at the notorious Sednaya prison
BERLIN
Germany on Friday called for international efforts to hold the perpetrators of the Assad regime accountable for their crimes, according to press reports.
The lives of the victims of the regime of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad who died there cannot be brought back, said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a visit to the notorious Sednaya prison near the Syrian capital Damascus.
“But we can all contribute as an international community to ensuring that justice is achieved,” German press agency dpa quoted her as saying.
Baerbock visited the prison together with her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot on behalf of the EU and the two ministers were briefed about the conditions there by representatives of the Syrian civil protection organization White Helmets.
In order to ensure justice and education, Germany and Europe have supported actors such as the White Helmets, but also the UN, in collecting evidence in recent years, Baerbock said.
"That's exactly what we want to continue. That's why we're here, among other things, to make it clear that we also support the people here in Syria when it comes to the issue of evidence collection, justice and the investigation of these terrible crimes …,” she added.
Prison of torture, death
According to reports by international organizations, Sednaya Military Prison became a base for detaining anti-regime peaceful protesters and military opponents following the March 2011 uprising.
The prison, under the Assad regime’s defense ministry, was transformed into a site for torture.
Reports indicate that regime officials silently and systematically organized the killings of thousands of detainees at Sednaya.
Between 2011 and 2015, weekly, and sometimes bi-weekly, executions were carried out by hanging, with approximately 50 individuals executed at a time.
The reports also reveal that the regime deliberately held detainees under inhumane conditions, subjected them to repeated torture, and systematically deprived them of food, water, medicine, and medical care.
Baerbock urges closing of Russian military bases in Syria
During her visit to damascus, Baerbock called for closing Russian military bases in Syria.
“It is also time for Russia to abandon its military bases in Syria. The Syrian people will not forget the massive bombings and human rights violations. It was Putin who supported Assad for so long, who covered up and supported the regime's crimes,” she said in a statement ahead of her trip to Syria.
Baerbock said her visit was "a clear signal" – on behalf of the EU – to open the way for a "new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria.”
The minister added that she was travelling to Syria with an "outstretched hand" after Assad's ouster and more than 13 years of civil war, which have devastated the country.
"We now have a goal in mind that millions of Syrians also long for: that Syria can once again become a respected member of the international community," Baerbock added.
