Syrian Soldier Is Guilty of War Crime, a First in the 6-Year Conflict<br />Swedish investigators are pursuing cases against an additional 13 people suspected of war crimes committed in Syria,<br />and the German authorities are investigating 17 people suspected of crimes in Syria and Iraq, according to a Human Rights Watch report released on Tuesday.<br />As for the individual cases, Salma Kahale, a Syrian activist who works with families of torture<br />and detention victims, said, "For now, I see this as mainly symbolic, a continuation of our cry in the wilderness." Haid Haid, a Syrian analyst and author of a recent report on transitional justice efforts for the German research institute Heinrich Böll Stiftung, said advocates must readjust their goals and expectations given the political climate.<br />Europe did that the message it sends to both victims and their families and to regime officials that war criminals<br />While Sweden focuses on cases that have a Swedish connection — a suspect, victim or witness in Sweden<br />— Germany allows cases based on pure universal jurisdiction, with no national link required.<br />Yet the ruling, issued last week in Sweden, is a landmark event, legal experts<br />and human rights advocates say, the first conviction in any court of anyone from the Syrian government’s side for crimes committed in the multisided war.<br />Both countries are also carrying out broader investigations intended to document suspected crimes by military and prison systems, information<br />that is not linked to specific cases but could provide crucial context in some future, higher-level prosecution.
