FIDH, SCM and LDH denounce in the strongest possible terms the campaign that has been circulating for several days on social networks, aimed at challenging the legal proceedings conducted by the Paris Judicial Court’s Crime against Humanity Unit against Majdi Nema, indicted on 30 January 2020 for war crimes. 

This campaign, which includes serious attempts to intimidate all witnesses, victims and civil parties participating in the proceedings, is aimed in particular at discrediting the work carried out by the complainant organisations in favor of the manifestation of the truth.

All the victims and witnesses in this case turned to the French justice system, which is competent because Majdi Nema was resident in France at the time of his arrest, because this is the only possible remedy at present. 

Our organisations denounce any violation of any suspect’s rights, including torture, and we support the right to a fair trial. We therefore support an independent judicial investigation into allegations of unjustified violence against suspect Majdi Nema. If the allegations prove to be true, we demand that those responsible be held accountable. 

This campaign exposes witnesses, victims, the relatives of our four kidnapped colleagues and workers of human rights organisations to real security risks to their personal safety. We therefore hold the leaders of Jaysh al-Islam militia legally and morally responsible for any risk to any of them as a result of this illegitimate campaign.

The participation of our organisations as civil parties is part of a long-term effort, which began almost 10 years ago, to fight against the impunity of the perpetrators of serious crimes perpetrated in Syria, without distinction, and by constantly reminding the need to bring justice to all Syrian victims and to work for the accountability, after fair trials, of all the actors in the Syrian conflict. Thus, our organisations have made every effort to ensure that judicial proceedings are opened for the crimes of the regime, which is primarily responsible for the terrible repression of the Syrian population. 

FIDH, SCM and LDH denounce the serious risks that such actions pose for the safety of victims and witnesses who had the courage to testify about the crimes suffered by the Jaysh al-Islam group in Eastern Ghouta.