ICC Note: Accountability and justice are a challenge when it comes to ISIS, especially in Syria where the country remains embroiled in civil war. The victims of ISIS have no one to turn to who can provide a high standard of transitional justice. Meanwhile, their communities continue to struggle meeting their day to day needs of life.

08/25/2018 Syria (Syria Direct) –  Public executions, brutal extrajudicial murders and other atrocities were the norm in areas controlled by the Islamic State during the group’s four years of rule over areas of northeastern Syria.

Nowadays, even with IS gone from cities like Raqqa and Deir e-Zor, the group left behind deep scars. With an untold number of Syrians brutalized or killed by IS fighters—who do survivors turn to for justice?

“Accountability—even within the larger context in Syria—is very difficult,” says Sara Kayyali, Syria researcher with Human Rights Watch (HRW) who has previously focused on transitional justice in Syria.

Kayyali, who visited Raqqa earlier this year, says that the defeat of IS in northeastern Syria raises difficult questions about justice and accountability—both for victims as well as perpetrators.

Although survivors of IS atrocities can pursue litigation under the principle of universal jurisdiction, seeking justice through international means is a slow process with limited effectiveness, Kayyali says. The other immediate option is reporting their cases to the SDF—an effective but potentially “problematic” solution.

“It’s unfortunate, but the options are very limited,” she says.

At the same time, Kayyali and other observers are concerned that local, SDF-backed authorities are arresting and detaining Syrians with little more than hearsay as evidence.

“That process is incredibly problematic…it’s amazing how many people [the SDF] had captured,” Kayyali, who visited Raqqa earlier this year, tells Syria Direct’s Justin Clark.

Large amounts of detainees have been released since—usually after months behind bars with no trial—after SDF authorities discovered that “they weren’t IS fighters,” Kayyali says.

…

For interviews with Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].