Activist Group Pushes for Probe of Syrian Regime and Its Military Backers

A Middle East activist group is pushing the International Criminal Court to investigate the Syrian regime and its principal military backers, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, for war crimes.
The organization, Naame Shaam, presented to the ICC on April 23 a report that documents alleged acts of ethnic cleansing and war profiteering committed inside Syria by security forces of Damascus and Iran as well as Hezbollah.
Naame Shaam’s campaign director, Fouad Hamdan, said the ICC is legally bound to respond to his organization’s report in two months. At that time, the ICC either needs to agree to investigate the charges or explain in writing to his organization why it won’t.
Mr. Hamdan said his report specifically outlines which Iranian, Syrian and Hezbollah officials should be charged by the ICC for war crimes. The report specifically names Maj. General Qasem Soleimani, who commands the overseas operations of Iran’s elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We reiterate our call to the International Criminal Court prosecutor to initiate an investigation into these crimes on her own initiative on the basis of Naame Shaam’s reports and other information,” said Mr. Hamdan in an interview.
He added: “This should include the role of Iranian officials and commanders, particularly General Qasem Soleimani.”
Naame Shaam, in its report, specifically accuses Iran and Hezbollah of backing Syrian attempts to remove Sunni populations from strategic areas in the Syrian cities of Damascus, Homs and Hama to bolster the government’s defenses. Mr. Assad’s government is dominated by the country’s Allawite minority, which practices a sect of Shiite Islam.
“The silent sectarian cleansing is dramatically changing the demographic composition of some parts of Syria,” said Shiar Youssef, another member of Naame Shaam. “The ultimate aim of the scheme appears to be securing the Damascus-Homs-Coast corridor along the border.”
Mr. Hamdan said he hopes his report will increase pressure on the Obama administration to more aggressively press the Iranian regime to pull back its involvement in the Syrian civil war.
The White House has repeatedly accused Iran and Hezbollah of supporting Mr. Assad’s crackdown inside Syria.