International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has held discussions with Syrian authorities on how the war crimes tribunal could help in their efforts to prosecute crimes allegedly committed in the country, his office says.
Khan was invited to Syria by the transitional government, which took over after former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.
Khan met with Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa to discuss how the ICC prosecutors could support the Syrian authorities in their efforts “towards accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country,” his office says.
The ICC, which has 125 member states, is the world’s permanent court to prosecute individuals for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.
Syria is not a member state, but could accept the ICC’s jurisdiction as a first step, Khan tells Reuters in an interview.
Such a step would mirror the action Ukraine took in search of accountability for alleged Russian war crimes.
“Some of the remarks coming out of Syria by the transitional government seem to have indicated an openness to justice and accountability for crimes that may have taken place,” Khan says in the interview.
“I think we’re happy to take part in the conversation to tell them the options that they have.”
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I'll join
Yes, I'll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, January 17, 2025
