Paris, 12 March 2018 – Six years after the bombing of a hidden makeshift press centre in the rebel-held Baba Amr neighbourhood in Homs, that left journalists Rémi Ochlik and Marie Colvin dead, evidence available to French investigators leaves no doubt as to the premeditated, targeted nature of the attack. Likewise, the identities of several individuals alleged to have planned and ordered the attack – all high-ranking members of the Syrian military and security apparatus – is also known. However, no charges have been issued to date. FIDH, together with survivors of the attack and families of the two journalists assassinated in Homs, demand that international arrest warrants against the suspected perpetrators be issued without delay.
A preliminary investigation into the attack was opened in France in 2012, initially for assassination and attempted assassination the focus shifted in 2014 to war crimes. An eyewitness to the planning of the attack recently testified before French investigators and confirmed in particular detail earlier information and evidence in the case file that demonstrates it’s premeditated, targeted nature.
The aim of the attack is now clear: eliminate journalists present in Homs to prevent them from reporting on the regime’s bloody campaign to reclaim Homs and discourage other reporters from coming to Syria to cover the conflict from rebel-held zones. The sequence of events is slowly becoming clearer: starting with the interception and tracking of Marie Colvin’s telephone calls; the presence of an informant near the press centre; a meeting to plan the rocket attack held in the head of the Homs Military Security Committee’s offices; and checks after the attack to make sure no journalists had escaped alive.
Several people identified by witnesses as having worked together to plan and carry out the attack are members of the Syrian military and security elite: Maher El Assad, brother of the Syrian president and Commander of the elite 4th Armoured Division; Ali Mamluk, Head of the Syrian Secret Services; and Rafik Shahadah, Head of the Homs Military Security Committee at the time.
The French investigation is today the only case that targets the criminal responsibility of those behind the attack. It is surprising that the French authorities have taken no formal steps against the suspected perpetrators, despite ample evidence in the case file.
Original article by FIDH:
https://goo.gl/StCQyE
