Reminding the world of Syria s disappeared
Relatives of Syria s disappeared hope that a trial in Germany, the world s first court case over state-sponsored torture in Syria, will set an international precedent. DW spoke to a young Syrian in Germany who hasn t seen her father since he disappeared eight years ago.
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EU: Legal actions pile up against Frontex for involvement in rights violations
23 February 2021
Two recent legal actions accuse Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, of serious violations of the rights of migrants and refugees in Greece.
Two separate actions – one by the
Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (
SJAC), and one by
Legal Centre Lesvos – have been launched since the end of January, both aiming to “finally break the cycle of impunity and trigger independent and serious investigations into collective expulsions in the Aegean”, according to
Legal Centre Lesvos coordinator Lorraine Leete.
On 28 January the
SJAC filed a
communiquéwith the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing that policy and practice implemented following the 2016 EU-Turkey Statement amount to a violation of article 7 of the Rome Statute of the ICC, on crimes against humanity.
The undersigned organizations urge the Biden Administration to engage constructively with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The U.S. government’s support for the ICC could help secure justice for victims in situations from Myanmar to Darfur, just as it helped facilitate the February 4 historic conviction of a former leader of an armed rebel group for war crimes and crimes against humanity in northern Uganda.
Ευρωκίνηση 2/15/2021 The National Herald
After another human rights group said it had documented incidents of Greece pushing refugees and migrants back to Turkey – which let human smugglers send them toward Greece, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi again said it s not true. These are part of a broader fake news strategy promoted by Turkey, through certain Non-government organizations and smuggler networks, he told To Vima weekly, as quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP). Investigations until now by (the EU border agency) FRONTEX and the (Greek) coastguard have not confirmed any of the claims, he said.
Greece has consistently denied claims by migrant support groups that it is illegally returning migrants to Turkey in violation of international law, including two reports this past month, said Turkey s propagandist, pro-government paper The Daily Sabah.