A Human Rights Center Files Complaint Against Iranian Officials at The Hague Court Over “Crimes Committed” in Syria

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center has filed a complaint against the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the International Criminal Court regarding the Islamic Republic’s role in Syria’s civil war.

In this complaint, which was made public on Wednesday, February 16, the Hague court has been asked to investigate the role of the Islamic Republic and armed groups supported by the Iranian government in “crimes committed” in Syria.

This is the first time such a complaint has been filed against officials of the Islamic Republic.

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center has accused the Islamic Republic of complicity and commission of “specific crimes against humanity and against Syrian civilians,” “expulsion,” “torture and abuse,” and other “inhumane acts” in Syria.

The petition submitted to the International Criminal Court includes documents and evidence collected from Syrian refugees residing in Jordan.

These Syrian citizens, by submitting documentation, have stated that forces affiliated with the Islamic Republic, including Hezbollah Lebanon, the Fatimiyoun Legion, and the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Legion, have conducted military attacks on cities, forcing these citizens to flee their homes and country.

According to reports, more than 650,000 Syrian citizens currently live in Jordan, having fled due to violence resulting from the war.

As announced by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, this petition has been submitted to the International Criminal Court based on Article 15 of the Rome Statute.

Although Syria is not a party to the “Rome Statute,” human rights lawyers argue that because the victims in this case are located in Jordan, which is a party to the treaty, this case falls within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Gisou Nia, lawyer and chairman of the board of directors of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, stated: “The Quds Force of the IRGC has been involved in Syria over the past decade and has committed numerous war crimes in the cities of Homs, Hama, Daraa, and the suburbs of Damascus.”

Public protests in Syria, which began in 2011, were transformed into a civil war through suppression by Bashar al-Assad’s government and the intervention of certain foreign countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, during which hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians were killed and millions displaced.

During the eleven years that Syria has been in turmoil, Western countries have repeatedly accused Tehran of military intervention in the country and directing and supporting certain paramilitary groups.

Officials of the Islamic Republic have consistently denied these accusations and defined their presence in Syria as advisory assistance.

This comes as numerous reports have been published in recent years about the killing of IRGC forces in Syria.

Source: Voice of America