Human Rights Activist & former prisoner in Syria. Refugee in USA. Director, Syria Justice & Accountability Centre.
@SJAC_info
. Tweets are my own opinion!
19 years ago, I was held at
#Adra
#Prison
#Damascus
twice, once in 2005 for a month & for around 6 months in 2006. This person was the Prison Director. I engaged with him twice in person and other times with a group of prisoners, especially during my second imprisonment in 2006.
Today, I'm using these against him in a trial in the US! With one difference—he will have a fair trial, and I did not; I had a military court trial for no apparent reason, although I was a 21-year-old civilian.
1/8. Just walked out of the Fed. Court in Alexandria where I attended the change of plea hearing in USA v. Koety (ISIS Beetles). Defendant pleaded guilty to all 8 counts, waived his right to appeal, and will be sent to the UK 15 yrs into his sentence.
I will meet this person again; this time, he is not the prison director, and I'm not the young (law student) prisoner. I'll remind him of what he said and did 19 years ago, but now in front of a US Judge!
I'm very grateful for all the efforts my colleagues at the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre
@SJAC_info
have put into this case, and looking forward to the trial.
#Syria
#Justice
#Accountability
Read our Press Release about the case here:
Press Release: SJAC provides crucial evidence in support of U.S. case against former Syrian government official
Keeping my memories with me from Syria to Lebanon, later to the US, was more of a personal thing, but having it used in justice proceedings 19 years later in the US is something I never expected.
8/8. Before the hearing today, a thousand Syrian families of those kidnapped by ISIS wrote to the USG to ask for support in the search for our loved ones. See their appeal for assistance below.
I kept everything—the history, the dates, and the conversations in the meetings—in my head, but I also kept the papers he signed for me, including my prison library card!
2/8. Count1: Conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in death. Counts 2-5: Hostage taking resulting in the deaths of James Wright Foley, Kayla Jean Mueller, Steven Joel Sotloff, and Peter Kassig. Count 6: Conspiracy to murder US citizens outside of the US.
7/8. The presence of the four families was critical to the proceedings. We hope this process will provide some semblance of closure to their suffering. But missing Syrians should not be lost in the convo even though they cannot prosecute in US courts.
@IvankaTrump
Your father breeds White supremacists!
If you truly think it's evil, then please bring it up with your father, speak out when he endorses it, denounce any supremacy behavior by his supporters, and help us all getting your father out of the White House!
#Election2020
3/8. Count 7: Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists (hostage taking and murder) resulting in death. Count 8: Conspiracy to provide material support to a designated FTO resulting in death. Each count has a minimum of life-time prison term.
4/8. For each count, Judge asked Kotey to explain why he was pleading guilty. The prosecution was also instructed to present evidence supporting guilt for each count. Judge reiterated Defendant’s right throughout the proceedings.
1/4 The trial of
#AnwarRaslan
is inarguably symbolic of international solidarity and the potential of
#UniversalJurisdiction
as an avenue for judicial recourse. But
#Syrian
victims/survivors must stay the course. This trial was only one step along the long road to justice.
لماذا تقدمنا بشكوى ضد اليونان أمام المحكمة الجنائية الدولية؟
أولاً: تصرف السلطات اليونانية بحق اللاجئين السوريين غير مقبول بتاتاً. ضرب وانتهاك وإهانات. إغراق للقوراب، تسبب بالوفاة، ظروف لا إنسانية إلى أبعد الحدود. النوم في العراء والقهر والتعذيب النفسي لعائلات بأسرها.
5/8. Kotey agreed to provide info on other crimes important to the USG or any other government. He’ll also attend supervised meeting with families of victims to provide them w/info. No obligation to testify against Al-Sheikh.
@zyazigi
هههههههه أحيه أحيه أخيه على قولودة سعيد صالح... ست زينة، حكي عابد كثير واضح أنه وقف مع طرف طحن البلد ودمرها. كثير صعب ترقيع كلامه بصراحة، لذلك لا تعذبي حالك كثير
6/8. Kotey revealed that he and Sheikh sent emails to hostages’ families demanding ransom as the hostages were held in an oil refiner used as a detention facility. Koety knows the exact location of the detention center.
Please, consider donating to the rescue efforts in NW
#syria
. Hundreds of families are still buried under collapsed buildings after a 7.8
#earthquake
hit the area.
#medical
#food
The passing of
@BenFerencz
was a loss to all of us who admired his lifelong fight to hold perpetrators of mass atrocities accountable
When we met as co-awardees of the 2019
#AnneFrankAward
I was touched by his dedication toward global justice & deep sense of humor
@IlhanMN
Also, I'm not a white person, and just like you, came to the US as a refugee (from Syria,) but have to agree that you don't know what you are talking about on
#Venezuela
Don't expect our support merely because you got attacked by right-wing people! That's cheap
#IdentityPolitics
ثريد حول خطوة الحكومة الهولندية اليوم تجاه جريمة التعذيب في سوريا: 1/15
- قررت الحكومة الهولندية تفعيل اتفاقية الأمم المتحدة لمناهضة التعذيب. الاتفاقية تتيح لأي دولة أن تعمل على مناهضة وإيقاف جريمة التعذيب. هولندا تحاول إيقاف التعذيب في سوريا.
Please read our analysis of 5,000 pages Syrian intelligence documents, which provides a unique, contemporaneous record of the decision-making processes of Syrian intelligence.
…
#WallsHaveEars
@SabbaghManar
خسرتوا شبابكم على أرض لا تمت لكم بصلة، غزاة قتلوا على أيدي السوريين في معركة لا ناقة لهم فيها ولا جمل. نعم، افخروا ان حياة شبابكم رخيصة، شباب يلقى بهم في أي معركة غير وطنية، خدمة لسياسات إقليمية. أليس هذا مصدر فخر كاف للبنان؟! هناك المزيد من ٱلاف الجثث لتفخروا بها! #ثقافة_الموت
#Lavrov
cancels flight to
#Serbia
after countries close airspace. A lot of
#Syrians
on social media are mocking him and providing him smuggling tips and routes through Europe.
#Russia
#Ukriane
4/4 My hope is that this verdict will encourage
#Syrians
in Europe to empower themselves through knowledge of their legal rights, especially in terms of universal jurisdiction. Armed with this info, they can take agency over accountability efforts crucial to long-term justice
@IlhanMN
Mike Pence is a fundamentalist right-wing idiot, but still you don't know what are you talking about on
#Venezuela
(and on
#Syria
).
I was really a big supporter of yours. You're one of my biggest disappointments. Please consider reading or seeking experts opinion before you talk!
As a Syrian-American, who came to the US as a refugee, I'd like to check with our
#stablegenius
whether my country, Syria, is among the
#shithole_countries
ثريد: 1/14
عن رفعت الأسد الصغير (أيمن عبد النور):
@aabnour
التقيت بالسيد أيمن عبد النور بواشنطن في تموز 2013. الدنيا رمضان وأنا صايم ولحالي، قررت روح أفطر بمطعم زنوبيا للأخت العزيزة فرح الأتاسي.
دخلت المطعم قبل آذان المغرب بشي 10 دقائق. بالمدخل لقيت فرح واقفة مع أيمن عبد النور
3/4 Regardless, today was a step forward. And it shows the resilience of Syrian victims/survivors who persevere despite the indescribable suffering imposed on them by many parties, not just the govt. To push forward in the face of trauma takes a special kind of courage.
2/4 To obtain true justice, authorities at the top of the govt hierarchy must be held accountable for crimes they *continue* to commit. Until that happens, the rights of detainees are still denied and their families still anguish over the unknown fates of their loved ones.
I'm honored to speak at the University of Michigan next week, discussing
@SJAC_info
work in documenting human rights violations and supporting the work for accountability.
If you're around, please stop by! This event is in-person and online!
#Michigan
#universityofmichigan
We demand the immediate release of
#Husam_AlKass
and stopping attacks intimidations against human rights defenders in NE Syria. We also demand opening an immediate investigation of such human rights violations.
ثالثاً: لا معين للاجئين السوريين عموماً. بدأت السلطات في أكثر من بلد أوروبي بفتح موضوع الترحيل والإعادة القسرية إلى سوريا بذريعة أنها بلد آمن، مثل الدنمارك أو ألمانيا. وبدأت المعاناة النفسية والقلق للاجئين
طبعاً الترحيل إلى بلد غير آمن يشكل أيضاً انتهاكاً مباشراً للقانون الدولي
أخيراً: جزيل الشكر للباحثة القانونية في المركز، نسمة بشي، التي عملت لمدة عام في اليونان بشكل تطوعي (قبل الالتحاق بفريق المركز) ولمديرنا القانوني روجر فيليبس على عملهما الدؤوب في هذه القضية.
والله من وراء القصد!
ثانياً: قسم كبير من هذه الإنتهاكات لا يعتبر مجرد إنتهاكات أو إساءة معاملة، بل يدخل بشكل مباشر تحت تصنيف "جرائم ضد الإنسانية" وفق نظام روما الأساسي للمحكمة الجنائية الدولية.
مترجم الجزيرة مباشر يحرف الترجمة خلال التغطية المباشرة لكلمة وزير الخارجية الأمريكي ريكس تيلرسون من جامعة ستانفورد أمس.
تيلرسون شكر قوات سوريا الديمقراطية والمترجم قال قوات المعارضة السورية!!
يسلط المركز السوري للعدالة والمساءلة الضوء على ثلاثة تحديات يجب على المجتمع الدولي معالجتها في شمال شرق سوريا:
1- المفقودون والمقابر الجماعية.
2- العلاقات الكردية-العربية
3- محاكمة مقاتلي الدولة الإسلامية وإعادة دمج عائلاتهم
While the Syrian government kept denying information about detainees, referred to those in prisons as "terrorist", its security agencies own documents showed otherwise: detention of Women, Children, and Juveniles.
Please, see SJAC report
#WallsHaveEars
14/14
البوست السابق فيه رابط حلقة "أكثر من رأي" من موقع قناة الجزيرة التي ظهر عليها أيمن عبد النور يبرر اعتقال والدي ويدافع عن بشار الأسد ويبرر قتل الناس بموجب القانون رقم 49
@StateDept
can't ignore such systematic human rights violations against human rights defenders and must pressure
@MazloumAbdi
to secure the safe release of
#Husam_AlKass
Friends in the US. Northern
#Syria
has been devastated by an
#earthquake
. Tens of deaths, hundreds of destroyed homes leaving civilians to freezing weather.
We are calling on everyone to support. Please consider donating to the rescuing efforts. Make a donation to the White Helmets. The rescuing efforts need fuel, workers, equipment, winter kits and medications. Anything helps.
Syrian director
@talalderki
latest film, Of Fathers and Sons, provides an intimate portrait of extremism in
#Syria
. Come watch in DC at
@DX_IFF
on Sat Oct 13.
Please, join the screeining of the film. Ticker available here:
Join us tomorrow for a discussion with .
@fondebrider
from the .
@eaafoficial
and SJAC's .
@Mohammad_Syria
on the subject of forensic anthropology in the exhumation of mass graves
The event will be live on our Facebook page
2- Mulham Volunteering Team is leading the recovery efforts, distributing blankets and food, and helping with shelter for homeless families. You can donate to them here:
@abdelbariatwan
أستاذ عبد الباري، أرجوك أن تشرح للمتابعين، وخصوصاً جمهور الشباب، شو عم تتعاطى لما تعمل مثل هي التصريحات؟
يعني مبين أنه شربان شي بس ما عم اعرف شو هو 🤔🤔🤔
يدخل قسم كبير من تصرفات الشرطة اليونانية تحت الممارسات الردعية التي تحاول اليونان من خلالها ثني اللاجئين عن القدوم إلى اليونان. هذه الممارسات يحظرها القانون الدولي بشكل واضح. وهناك سبل قانونية واضحة لمساءلة مقترفيها.
Ben laid the foundations for national & international mechanisms that represent the victims of mass atrocities
It is now up to current & future generations to ensure these institutions continue to expand and evolve to meet the challenges of today's global conflicts
Thousands are forced to leave their homes & run for their lives as
#Russia
continues to bomb and devastate
#Idlib
Please, make a donation for families forced to become homeless in the cold, sleeping in tents or under trees and collect garbage for heating
1/4 Yesterday afternoon,
#MohammedKhalifa
– who narrated some of
#ISIS
’ most brutal English-language videos – appeared before a federal court in Virginia for a detention hearing. He was turned over to the FBI by SDF, and arrived on U.S. soil this past week.
سابعاً: أملنا في ردع الدول التي تخطط لترحيل اللاجئين، أن تخشى المساءلة أمام المحكمة الجنائية الدولية وتقرر التخلي عن السياسات السلبية والانتهاكات بحق اللاجئين.
رابعاً: الحالة في اليونان من صلب اختصاص المحكمة الجنائية الدولية، وفتح التحقيق فيها أمر ضروري وهام.
نأمل أن يؤدي التحقيق الجنائي الذي يمكن أن تفتحه المحكمة في حالة اليونان إلى التأثير على السياسة العامة للاجئين في الدول الاوروبية وفي الاتحاد الأوربي عموماً
1- ملخص اليوم الثاني لمحاكمة الطبيب علاء موسى في فرانكفوت:
في اليوم الثاني من استجواب الطبيب علاء موسى، نقل مراقبو المركز السوري للعدالة والمساءلة أن القضاة ركزوا في أسئلتهم على الوقت بين أواخر عام 2011 وأوائل عام 2013.