Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act: Syrians dream of holding “Assad” and his supporters accountable, regime continues its violations, and 86 civilians have been killed under since the legislation was passed
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
May 2020
Only a few days separate Syrians from the implementation of “Caesar’s Act”, which was passed by the US Senate in mid-December 2019 and signed by US President Donald Trump several days later. The Act that is aimed at exerting pressure and imposes sanctions on the Syrian regime due to thousands of images of torture that were leaked from inside the regime’s detention centers, will come into effect starting of next June, according to US State Department officials. The Act came into light at the first time when a defector of the regime leaked tens of thousands of documents in early 2014, estimated at 55 thousand photos documenting the killing of 11 thousand prisoners after they were tortured in Al-Assad’s prisons, among tens of thousands who were killed inside the regime’s prisons under torture. The US administration hopes that this “Act” would be able to strangle regime’s officials and supporters to a large extent in order to stop its practices and violations against the Syrians.
Caesar Act: strict sanctions
The act imposes sanctions on entities that deal with the Syrian government and its military and intelligence agencies. The draft law was named “Caesar”, after an unknown person who documented thousands of photos of torture carried out by the Syrian regime against civilian detainees who had fallen prey to the officers and regime forces in detention camps and prisons in which the Syrian regime had used to practice torture against civilians, not to mention torturing and abusing citizens in streets and public roads since the outbreak of the revolution against the regime in 2011..
When these documents were leaked by one of the regime defectors, who identified himself as “Caesar”, there was an uproar and disquiet. The pictures documenting the daily torture that Syrians suffered during the years of the revolution shocked the world. Widespread torture in regime prisons resulted in the death of more than 16,000 civilians, whom have been documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while SOHR sources have confirmed that more than 104,000 civilians have been killed inside the basements and chambers of torture that the regime has been running for all these years.
The act, was signed by president Trump, allows for new sanctions to be imposed on Syrian officials and obliges the United States to support the international prosecution of those accused of human rights violations. Hours after Trump signed the act, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “Caesar’s Act provides the United States with the tools to help end the terrible and ongoing conflict in Syria by strengthening accountability for the Bashar al-Assad regime, as Caesar’s Act sends a clear signal that no any external party should engage in business with or enrich such a regime”.
Systematic torture: tens of thousands of civilians perish
More than 55 thousand photos documented the death of 11 thousand among the tens of thousands of Syrians who were killed in the regime detention centers due to the brutal torture they were subjected to at the hands of the various branches of the regime forces. During nine years of the Syrian revolution, the SOHR managed to document the death of 16,198 civilians by name, of whom 16,009 were men and young men, 125 children and 64 females, out of a total of 104 thousand deaths that took place in regime detention centres, according to SOHR statistics.
Reliable SOHR sources within the Syrian regime’s security services have confirmed that these 104,000 civilians have been executed and killed inside the prisons of the regime and its intelligence forces, among whom more than 83% have been killed, and executed inside these detention centers since May 2013 to October 2015. SOHR sources also confirmed that more than 30,000 detainees were killed inside the notorious Seidnaya prison alone, while the Air Force Intelligence prisons came in the second place in terms of the number of deaths.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: “Caesar Act documents the truth”
In one of the findings presented by the US Congress to support “Caesar Act” (H.R. 5732: 14th Congress, 2nd session), there were references to the SOHR efforts to document the massive catastrophe that engulfed the Syrians as a result of the continues torture against civilians. The Act indicated that the SOHR obtained information about the death of over 60,000 Syrians, including children, in Syrian prisons since 2012. The Act also indicated that more than 15 million Syrians have become refugees or displaced during the past five years, as a result of regime’s practices and the atrocities committed against the Syrians who went out against the regime to reject the tyranny and corruption that ruled the country for decades; however the regime only responded with bullets, killing, abuse, torture and the most heinous violations that went beyond war crimes and human rights violations.
A lost hope: regime forces continue its violations
Although “Caesar Act”, after approved by president Trump, gave the Syrians a glimpse of hope in that the regime would be forced to put an end to the ongoing torture and suffering of Syrian civilians, 86 more civilians have been killed since the Act was passed. The SOHR has documented all the 86 deaths but refrained from mentioning the names of 35 upon the request of their relatives.
The Syrian regime violations against the people of Syria do not stop only there, as the regime has broken its promises and pledges on many occasions despite the Russian mediations and interventions to conclude settlement and reconciliation deals within the regions that the Syrian regime recovered either through military operations or regional and international agreements. The regime broke its promises regarding the agreements that were concluded with several former fighters and civilians in Daraa, al-Ghouta, Homs and Hama. At least 219 people were arrested, including several former opposition fighters. Although these people had previously struck agreements and reconciliation deals under Russian auspices, those agreements did not prevent the regime from arresting and torturing their signatories, as 32 of whom died under torture, the majority of them hailing from Daraa and Rukban camp.
Over the past nine years, SOHR has not stopped for a moment documenting all the violations taking place across the Syrian territories at the hands of all parties involved in the war, of which the “regime” has had a lion’s share. With the adoption of Caesar Act to impose sanctions on the Syrian regime, its officials, and all those dealing with it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights calls for the greatest pressure to be exerted on the Syrian regime and its supporters (Russia and Iran) in order to stop the ongoing killing and atrocities plaguing the people of the Syria. The SOHR also affirms the necessity and importance of bringing all the perpetrators of war crimes to justice, and to hold them accountable and prosecute them for crimes they committed over the past years.
While stressing the importance of adopting Caesar Act, the SOHR hopes that it will be a means to strangle the Syrian regime, not the Syrian people, including those within the areas of the regime’s forces. The impact of potential sanctions may cause a great harm and suffering to ordinary people given the already deteriorating economic situation and the historical decline in the value of the Syrian pound, as the income of the Syrian citizen has become among the lowest in the world. Therefore, SOHR hopes that the law will not be used as an excuse serving the interests of the Syrian regime, and that it will help in moving Syria closer towards justice and equality.
Also, the SOHR reaffirms the need for the international community to pay attention to the suffering of the Syrian people and intervene immediately to stop the bloodshed that has been ongoing for 9 years; we believe that the international community could have prevented the misfortunes that the Syrians suffered and negatively impacted the international community and the entire Middle East region, had the international organizations and bodies heeded SOHR calls since the beginning of the crisis.