‘Time is of the essence’ to preserve evidence of Assad regime crimes, top UN official says

Robert Petit urgently needs permission from Syria’s interim authorities to inspect sites and protect evidence

The head of a UN investigative body for Syria has said that enough evidence exists to convict individuals of crimes in Syria, but there is an urgent need to secure and preserve the evidence.

In an exclusive interview with The National, Robert Petit, who heads the UN's International Impartial and Independent Mechanism, underscored the importance of safeguarding records from former president Bashar Al Assad’s prisons, which document the fate of thousands of disappeared people and identify perpetrators of the regime's crimes.

These records, Mr Petit noted, are vital for ensuring accountability and advancing future justice efforts.

“We know for a fact that evidence is getting lost and will continue to be at least at risk if measures are not taken,” he said. “Time is of the essence”.

Mr Petit, who recently visited Syria and met representatives of the caretaker authorities in the political bureau of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is still waiting for permission from the interim authorities to “discharge“ the IIIM’s mandate To secure the evidence.

“That's what we're mandated to do. That's what we know how to do,” he said. “But for that, we need permission from the caretaker authorities to be able to come back [to Syria] and do that sort of work. So, we're waiting.”

Since its establishment in 2016, the IIIM has documented the most serious crimes under international law committed in Syria since March 2011, despite being barred from entering the country until now. Its aim is to make them available for court proceedings.

“We did make that request on the 21st [of December] and subsequently also on the 14th of January and we're still unfortunately waiting for an answer,” he said. “I have no reason to believe that this is anything more than a matter of process rather than substance, but the process is taking, unfortunately, quite a bit of time.”

The ousting of Mr Al Assad in December unleashed waves of jubilation across Syria, with citizens celebrating the collapse of a regime long marred by accusations of tyranny and oppression.

Outside Sednaya Prison, a notorious symbol of Mr Al Assad’s brutal legacy, hundreds of anxious people gathered, each searching for clues about the fate of detained loved ones, hoping the regime’s fall might finally bring answers.

A former inmate demonstrates how he was forced to kneel and raise his hands when he was in front of the prison guards during food distribution at Sednaya prison. Reuters

Former detainees shared chilling accounts of the suffering they endured within its walls, their stories painting a stark picture of the widespread atrocities committed under Mr Al Assad’s rule.

The regime’s downfall marked a critical turning point for the IIIM. Mr Petit characterised his visit to Syria following Mr Al Assad’s ousting as a profound moment, coinciding with the eighth anniversary of the mechanism's inception.

“You could see people, you know, in front of you coming together after having not seen each other for 15 years ... it was a special moment,” he said.

During his visit to Damascus, Mr Petit and his team were granted access to significant sites. He saw the archives of the military court and the original Caesar files – photographs taken between May 2011 and August 2013 by the Syrian military police defector known as “Caesar” – that provide unique proof of the Syrian government’s machinery of torture and killing.

When asked how Mr Al Assad, who has been granted asylum in Russia, can be held accountable, Mr Petit said: “There's precedent for high-level individuals who had asylum, to have lost that protection and eventually be held accountable.”

During a meeting with a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Damascus last month, Syria’s ruler Ahmad Al Shara demanded that the Kremlin hand over Mr Al Assad and an estimated $2 billion in liquid assets held by the exiled dictator's family in Russian banks, sources told The National.

“There are possibilities for accountability in the future, much of which will depend on the path Syrians choose for transitional justice,” Mr Petit explained. “I don't think it's my place to and it's nobody's place to dictate to Syrians what should take place. They should decide themselves.”