Addressing reporters on 17 August, the French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office said that it had received “significant documentation relating to possible crimes committed by Syrian regime forces… during the Tadamon massacre in Damascus in 2013”. The French foreign affairs ministry continued, “the alleged facts are likely to constitute the most serious international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity and war crimes,” crimes for which French justice has universal jurisdiction. Last month’s development prompts us to recommend that you read this article/interview on the edifying investigation that brought the Tadamon massacre and the identity of some of its perpetrators to light.
In early 2019, at an international academic conference in Paris, a Syrian political activist approached a scholar of mass violence affiliated with the NIOD Institute of War, Holocaust & Genocide Studies (University of Amsterdam). Could they meet privately? A few hours later, the professor had in his possession 27 unedited videos documenting mass atrocities committed by members of Syria’s security forces. The videos had been copied from a computer located in the Damascus headquarters of Syria’s Office of Military Intelligence by a young soldier assumed to be loyal to Assad.
