SNHR: Urgent Appeal SOS

Urgent Appeal to International Committee of  Red Cross ( ICRC ) and United Nation to stop the 3 days ongoing ethnic cleansing operations;
Three consecutive days during which Syrian Government’s Armed  Forces and Shabbiha committed killings amounted to ethnic cleansing amid silence from the international community;
Dozens of women and children stabbed, shot, burned and butchered as horrifying images reveal the bodies lying on top of each other in the street (we received photos by Skype and email from an activist on the ground who collaborated with SNHR since the beginning of Syrian revolution);
Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) received frequent reports and does not accept any reasonable doubt from Banyas in the coastal region by relatives of the victims, some of them got to Tripoli in Lebanon about extrajudicial killings and executions by shooting into the homes in addition to dozens of cases of sexual violence committed by Syrian government’s armed forces during the storm of the town to the date of this report, ignoring dozens of rules of customary humanitarian law rules;
SNHR urgently appeals to the ICRC, which is, according to the International Human Rights Law (the applicable law in the Syrian conflict), has access to conflict areas in Syria;
In case Syrian Authorities are preventing the ICRC access into towns, we demand the ICRC to address the Security Council to take upon its responsibilities and hand it over from the ICRC to the United Nations and Security Council
Holding responsibilities
Hold the Syrian government fully responsible for the massacre.  The continuing silence and lack of relief in the city from the international community is seen as a green light to continue the ethnic cleansing committed by Syrian Government’s Armed Forces.
Annex and attachments: Extremely horrifying images for women and children slaughtered in one of the  most brutal ethnic cleansing operations in the new era:
Customary IHL Rules have been violated in Banyas by Syrian Government’s Armed Forces:

Rule 1. The parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants. Attacks may only be directed against combatants. Attacks must not be directed against civilians.

Rule 2. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.

Rule 5. Civilians are persons who are not members of the armed forces. The civilian population comprises all persons who are civilians.
Rule 6. Civilians are protected against attack, unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.
Rule 7. The parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives. Attacks may only be directed against military objectives. Attacks must not be directed against civilian objects.

Rule 11. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited.

Rule 53. The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited.

Rule 54. Attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population is prohibited.
Rule 55. The parties to the conflict must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, which is impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction, subject to their right of control.
Rule 89. Murder is prohibited.

Rule 90. Torture, cruel or inhuman treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, are prohibited.

Rule 91. Corporal punishment is prohibited.
Rule 93. Rape and other forms of sexual violence are prohibited.
Rule 134. The specific protection, health and assistance needs of women affected by armed conflict must be respected.

Rule 135. Children affected by armed conflict are entitled to special respect and protection.

Rule 138. The elderly, disabled and infirm affected by armed conflict are entitled to special respect and protection.

Rule 149. A State is responsible for violations of international humanitarian law attributable to it, including:
(a) violations committed by its organs, including its armed forces;
(b) violations committed by persons or entities it empowered to exercise elements of governmental authority;
(c) violations committed by persons or groups acting in fact on its instructions, or under its direction or control; and
(d) violations committed by private persons or groups which it acknowledges and adopts as its own conduct.

Rule 150. A State responsible for violations of international humanitarian law is required to make full reparation for the loss or injury caused.

SNHR Casualties Report: Monday, 6 May 2013

Syrian Network for Human Rights documented 111 victims, Monday, 6/5/2013 all across Syria, most of them in Damascus and countryside and Tartous in the coastal region. Among the victims: 7 children, 6 women, 2 tortured to death, and 32 armed rebels

Damascus and countryside: 30 victims
Aleppo: 21 victims
Tartous: 11 victims
Daraa: 13 victims
Homs: 12 victims
Hama: 13 victims
Idlib: 2 victims
Raqqa: 1 victim
Dier Alzoor: 4 victims

Surviving Neo-Nazi Member Faces Life In Prison

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MUNICH, Germany – On Monday, the surviving member of a neo-Nazi unit went on trial for numerous racist murders. Beate Zschäpe, 38, is accused of her association with National Socialist Underground (NSU) who killed 10 people, most of them of Turkish origin.

Demonstrators displayed photos of victims in front of the Regional Court in Munich. (Photo Courtesy of National Post)

Four male defendants, who face lesser charges of aiding the NSU, are also on trial with Zschäpe. Zschäpe could face life in prison if convicted. However, she denies the charges.

Sebastian Scharmer, one of the lawyers, said, “The idea that the N.S.U. only consisted of three very dangerous far-right extremists is very difficult to imagine.”

Prosecutors claim the three members assembled “to realize their racist ideals, influenced by the Nazis for a preservation of the German nation through carrying out murders and explosive attacks to bring about change in the government and society.”

Prosecutors also state that the NSU was behind two bombings in Cologne, Germany. Both bombing were intended to kill “as many people as possible only because of their non-German origin.” Although no one was killed, twenty-three people were wounded in the attacks.

Although Zschäpe is not accused of her direct involvement in the murders, the group’s decisions were made jointly.

Zschäpe’s lawyer said she will not testify at her trial.

Outside the courthouse, German-Turkish community groups and anti-racism demonstrators gathered to display banners. One read, “Hitler child Zschaepe, you will pay for your crimes”.

Osman Can, a leader of Turkey’s governing party, believes the trial is a “question of humanity.” He continued, “The violent methods that are seen in this case are not only aimed at Turks. They are against Jews or Roma, or any viewed as ‘others’ in German society.”

In addition to the demonstrators, around 500 police officers provided security and members of the public and media lined up for a chance to attend.

After the trial began, the judge subsequently adjourned the trial until May 14 after the defense team accused the judge of bias. Zschaepe’s lawyers filed a motion, which complained about a search for possible weapons or other objects while the prosecutors and police were not present.

This NSU case originally caused controversy when the police wrongfully accused the Turkish mafia for the murders. As a result, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service was forced to resign.

Lawyers for the family of the first victim, Enver Simsek, stated, “With its historical, social and political dimensions, the NSU trial is one of the most significant of post-war German history.”

Mehmet Daimagüler, another lawyer who represents several of the victims’ survivors, compared this trial to the Allies’ prosecution of Nazis in 1945 and 1946 in Nuremberg.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Neo-Nazi Murders: Beate Zschaepe Goes On Trial In Germany – 6 May 2013

National Post – High-Profile Neo-Nazi Murder Trial Begins in Germany Amid Tight Security – 6 May 2013

NBC News – “Hitler Child” Goes on Trial in Germany for 10 Racist Murders – 6 May 2013

The New York Times – Neo-Nazi Trial Begins in Germany – 6 May 2013

Syrian Rebels May Have Used Sarin Gas

By Dylan Takores
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Carla Del Ponte of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria stated in an interview on Swiss TV that Syrian rebels may have used sarin, a chemical nerve gas, in skirmishes with the Syrian army.

Carla Del Ponte. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

Sarin gas is capable of causing respiratory arrest and death.  It has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction and banned under international law.

Del Ponte reported the Commission received “strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof” that rebels used the chemical agent.  She explained that the information came from testimony by doctors and victims from neighboring countries.  The testimony revealed that the victims’ treatments were compatible with methods used to treat injuries from the use of sarin.

The Commission was appointed in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate war crimes in Syria.  It has little access within Syria, but conducted extensive investigations and gathered testimony from individuals in many neighboring countries.

Since Del Ponte’s statement Sunday night, the Commission has downplayed the comment.  Paulo Sergio Pinheiro clarified on Monday that the Commission has not yet reached any conclusive results.  He declined to comment any further on the allegations, but stated that the Commission would report its findings on the subject to the Human Rights Council on June 3rd.

The statement followed reports issued last week by the US and UK that claimed an investigation found evidence the Syrian government forces used sarin against rebels.  The reports said investigations revealed “compelling” evidence that Bashar al-Assad’s loyal army used the gas, but required incontrovertible proof in order to request UN intervention.

The US responded to Del Ponte’s statement on Monday.  White House spokesman Jay Carney stated that the US is “highly skeptical” of her remarks.  The US contends that any use of sarin gas likely came from al-Assad’s army.

Both the Syrian government and the rebels accused each other of using sarin.  The government denied allegations from the US and UK reports.  The government claimed that the opposition is attempting to frame the Syrian army.  Both sides assert that the other used chemical weapons on three separate occasions near Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC – UN commission downplays claim Syria rebels used sarin – 6 May 2013

CBS – W.H. on Syrian sarin gas claim: Look to regime, not rebels – 6 May 2013

Guardian – US casts doubts on claim Syrian rebels may have used sarin gas – 6 May 2013

VOA – UN Panel: No Proof of Syria Nerve Gas Claim – 6 May 2013

Yahoo – U.N. has testimony that Syrian rebels used sarin gas: investigator – 6 May 2013