Wafa Mustafa, Whitney-Martina Nosakhare and Anna Oehmichen analyse the contributions of Koblenz trial to truth, justice and accountability.
How a Higher Regional Court in the small German town of Koblenz sentenced Anwar Raslan, a former Syrian intelligence officer, to life in prison for crimes against humanity and what this means for truth, justice and accountability for Syrians, were the topics of a panel discussion at the Hertie School Centre for Fundamental Rights on 29 March 2022, co-organised by the Centre for Fundamental Rights and Human Rights Watch. Wafa Mustafa, activist, journalist and survivor from detention, Whitney-Martina Nosakhare, assistant counsel for the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, and Dr. Anna Oehmichen, lawyer of several victims and joint plaintiffs before the Koblenz trial took part in a conversation moderated by the Centre’s co-director, Professor Başak Çalı.
Topics included the factors that enabled this trial to take place in Koblenz in the first place, lessons learned from the German criminal justice system’s first-ever crime against humanity trial under its universal jurisdiction laws, and the significance of this trial for broader demands for truth, justice and accountability for Syrians as the peaceful uprising against the president of Syria entered its eleventh year of full-scale civil war with many states also involved directly or indirectly.
Whitney-Martina Nosakhare opened the conversation with an analysis of the universal jurisdiction laws in Germany, noting that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently closed for Syria, as Syria is not a state party to the ICC and previous efforts by the UN Security Council to refer Syrian cases to the ICC have been vetoed by Russia and China. Anna Oehmichen discussed the strengths and shortcomings of the German criminal justice system in trying international crimes. Wafa Mustafa spoke about the significance of this trial for victims and their families and stressed that this is the first-ever court judgment that confirms that the widespread and systematic nature of torture in state detention facilities in Syria amounts to crimes against humanity. Wafa Mustafa, however, also raised concerns that the crimes against humanity verdict in this trial has not resulted in stronger political pressure on Syrian authorities.
Watch a recording of the event here:
You can read more about the Koblenz trial, via links provided by Human Rights Watch: