Syrians in Diaspora seeking for Justice: The Case of the Universal Jurisdiction of Germany
 

The three concepts constituting the slogan of the Syrian revolution which erupted on the 15th of March 2011 were “Freedom, Dignity and Justice”. After eight years of suffering and severe human rights violations that Syrians were subject to, one questions, how justice can - in its legal definition – be met and to which extend do or will the main actors and the survivors of these violations have their voices heard and play an active role in defining justice and in achieving it.

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In diaspora this question remains as Syrians continue demanding justice in an unfamiliar legal system using legal tools such as the universal jurisdiction of Germany. This project investigates the important role that such mechanisms can play towards a Restorative Justice scenario in the future in Syria.

 

In addition, it aims towards shaping a better understanding of the motive that drives Syrian victims and survivors of human rights violations to play an active role in the cases that are being built against Assad regime and other parties of the conflict in Syria, drawing a special focus on cases that are related to torture in detention centres, which target high and low ranking regime personal.