Damascus, June 1 (SANA) Syrian legal experts affirmed Monday that revealing the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared is a fundamental step in Syria’s transitional justice process, stressing that truth and accountability for violations committed under the deposed regime are the two essential pillars of justice for victims and their families.
The remarks came in the wake of the Interior Ministry’s announcement that investigations had confirmed the killing of the children of Dr. Rania al-Abbasi — wife of Abdul Rahman Yasin — at the hands of militias loyal to the deposed regime, following years of enforced disappearance.
Secretary of the Central Bar Association Umaima Mahmoud Idris told SANA that enforced disappearance is not merely an unlawful deprivation of liberty but a compound violation of fundamental rights, and that documenting cases and preserving legal evidence are the foundation of any justice process.
She stressed that recent progress on individual cases should be seen as the beginning of a long national effort to uncover the fate of thousands of missing persons — not as its conclusion.
Homs Bar Association member attorney Ammar Ezzeddin said the confirmed killing of the children constitutes a compound crime under international law — beginning with enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity and followed by extrajudicial killing — opening the door to prosecuting those responsible under international criminal law.
He stressed that accountability must extend beyond the leadership of the deposed regime to the entire security and military apparatus that carried out or enabled these crimes, and called for a dedicated transitional justice law aligned with international criminal standards.
Faten Ramadan, head of the international human rights association Sans Menottes, said transitional justice is the most appropriate framework for addressing Syria’s legacy of gross violations, as it combines truth, accountability, reparations, and institutional reform.
She described the missing persons file as the most urgent transitional justice issue in Syria, and called for sustained efforts to uncover the truth, hold perpetrators accountable, and support affected families as core pillars of building the new Syria.
The Interior Ministry announced this week that investigations with several detainees in the children’s disappearance case revealed that children of Dr. Rania al-Abbasi were killed by groups and militias linked to the deposed regime, supported by video clips and information from the National Commission for the Missing Persons.
Preliminary investigations identified Amjad Yussef as involved, while authorities continue to collect evidence and pursue other suspects ahead of legal action.
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