A Turkish lawyer has filed a criminal complaint against the ousted Syrian regime, to prosecute those responsible for the crimes committed at Sednaya prison.
According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, Turkish lawyer Gülden Sönmez submitted a criminal complaint to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, December 12, against the ousted Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad.
Several military and political officials were also listed as suspects, accused of committing violations at Sednaya prison.
The Turkish lawyer stated in a post on X, on Thursday, that she “will present new evidence that has been uncovered at Sednaya prison to the ongoing investigation file against Bashar al-Assad.”
The complaint also includes a request for the issuance of international arrest warrants against 17 other officials, in cooperation with Interpol.
Sönmez added that the submitted lawsuit is based on the violations suffered by detainees in the prison, including cases of torture, rape, loss of body parts, and the killing of detainees.
The petition published by Sönmez on her official page includes details about the suffering of the victims, including injured children and women who were subjected to rape and torture.
Sönmez clarified that the new complaint includes updated evidence related to crimes committed at Sednaya prison and called for field investigations into the mass graves and detention centers around Sednaya and other prisons.
Sönmez and other human rights advocates previously filed a similar complaint to the International Criminal Court in March 2019 on behalf of 1,183 victims, including 533 women.
The lawyer urged Syrian non-governmental organizations to provide their evidence to support the legal file, emphasizing the importance of documenting crimes to ensure justice for the victims.
The lawsuit called for legal cooperation with the administration of the new Syrian government that will be established during the investigation process in Turkey.
This is not the first time a criminal complaint has been filed against the Syrian regime; previously, Syrian-American citizen Obada Mazik submitted a lawsuit to the US District Court regarding torture in detention centers belonging to the regime.
Last June, the French judiciary approved an arrest warrant for the former Syrian regime president regarding chemical attacks in Syria.
Sednaya prison is one of the largest prisons run by the Syrian regime, located near the mountainous town of Sednaya, about 30 kilometers northwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The prison is known as the “human slaughterhouse” and “death factory,” among other names given by international reports and repeated by survivors in an attempt to describe the violations committed within it.
Detainees at Sednaya prison have faced systematic starvation and torture, in addition to being deprived of medication and all forms of medical care and personal hygiene.