Lawyers file a criminal complaint in Sweden against the Assad regime for using chemical weapons

Lawyers representing victims of chemical weapons attacks in Syria filed a criminal complaint in al-Suwaydiyah, to hold the Assad regime accountable for its use of chemical weapons, as Swedish police can investigate allegations of war crimes regardless of where they are committed.
Lawyers submitted the complaint through direct testimonies by Syrian victims and survivors, and civil society organizations defending civil rights, according to a statement published by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, in cooperation with the “Open Society Justice Initiative” and the “Open Archive” organization.

The complaint stated that the Assad regime used chemical weapons in attacks on towns controlled by the revolutionary factions in Eastern Ghouta, Damascus in 2013, and the city of Khan Sheikhoun in 2017. Hundreds of civilians, including children, were killed in the attacks.

In a statement, the organizations behind the legal procedure called on the Swedish judicial authorities to open an investigation into these attacks so that the officials in the Assad regime, who are responsible for these war crimes, can be prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

“In the 10 years since the first attacks on pro-democracy protesters in Syria, the Assad regime has used chemical weapons more than 300 times to terrorize the civilian population,” Steve Costas, attorney for Justice Initiative, said in a statement.

He added, “The Swedish authorities can join their counterparts in France and Germany to jointly investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and to show that the perpetrators of these crimes will not go unpunished.”

Hadi al-Khatib, director of the Syrian Archive, said that by submitting this criminal complaint, “We want to support the struggle of victims and survivors for truth and justice, and we hope that the Swedish investigation into these crimes will ultimately lead to trials and convictions of those who ordered the attacks and learned about them.”
Implemented ”.

The bombing of the Assad regime with chemical weapons on August 21, 2013, in the areas of Zamalka and Ein Tarma, resulted in the suffocation of 1,144 civilians, including 99 children and 194 women, and the bombing of the city of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, 2017, resulting in the death of 90 civilians as a result of the attack, according to
What was documented by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.