Maher Akraa

Syrien nach Assad: Was braucht es für den Frieden? ⚖️

Gespräch mit Maher Akraa-Meyer @maherakraa.bsky.social, Forscher und Journalist; Zaher Al Jamous, Journalistin und Hörbuchautorin; Abdulla Ibrahim, Senior Researcher am @gvagrad-ccdp.bsky.social

📅 3.6. 🕧 18:30-20:00
Anmeldung: bit.ly/4kbGyxa

(20/20)
Post-Assad Syria—how should investigations proceed, and how can perpetrators (including Assad) be held accountable despite Russia’s support?
A) Intl tribunal
B) Hybrid court
C) Domestic courts
D) Reconciliation

Share your view!

(19/20)
Yasser’s story reminds us of the lengths used to hide atrocities. Coercion, fear, and staged testimonies must not overshadow survivors who seek truth.

(18/20)
Regardless, Douma and other battered towns like Eastern Ghouta, Khan Sheikhoun, and beyond yearn for closure. Exposing forced denials is key to revealing the regime’s war crimes.

(17/20)
Now, the challenge is justice. Many push for an international tribunal, while others suggest hybrid courts. Russia’s involvement complicates accountability for chemical crimes.

(16/20)
Locals had to label it “smoke and dust.” Russian-driven narratives dismissed victims. But evidence—photos, witness accounts, OPCW findings—points to repeated chemical warfare.

(15/20)
The regime collapsed recently, and Syrians are finally free to speak. The Guardian reports survivors describing how chlorine sank into basements, suffocating families hiding below.

(14/20)
Yasser now apologises: “I regret the lies I told under duress. May the victims’ families forgive me.” His story spotlights a system of intimidation enforced by Damascus & Moscow.

(13/20)
OPCW verified at least 17 chemical attacks in Syria. Despite treaties, Russia’s disinformation and UN vetoes often derailed accountability, letting the regime obscure truth.

(12/20)
Chemical weapons weren’t used just in Douma. Eastern Ghouta (2013) saw sarin kill up to 1,400. Khan Sheikhoun (2017) also faced suspected sarin. Repeated attacks defied Syria’s membership in the CWC.

(11/20)
79-year-old Tawfiq lost his wife & 4 children. He was told: “We’ll cut off your tongue if you speak.” He never found their remains. This fear kept Douma quiet for years.

(10/20)
According to The Guardian (Dec 2024), 43 people died in Douma’s chlorine attack. Civilians in basements were exposed to lethal gas. Bodies turned “blue and black.” Survivors were threatened into silence.

(9/20)
Coercion of witnesses is common. Anadolu Agency (Dec 2024) cited another Douma resident who lost family in the 2018 attack but was forced to say it was “regular shelling.”

(8/20)
Back in Damascus, they were returned to Branch 251. Summoned repeatedly, Yasser felt shame facing Douma’s people, fearing another forced interview each April.

(7/20)
Yasser recalls wanting to seek asylum in The Hague: “We saw a French building and thought of jumping the fence to tell the truth, but we feared for our families.”

(6/20)
UN records (7 Feb 2023) show Syria & Russia brought 17 Douma ‘witnesses’ to the OPCW in April 2018, claiming they refuted attack claims. Yet OPCW found chlorine-laden cylinders likely dropped from a Syrian helicopter.

(5/20)
Suddenly, he was flown to Moscow, then to The Hague (OPCW HQ). There, he repeated the false narrative, with no Western delegates present, to refute allegations of a chemical attack.

(4/20)
He alleges Russians oversaw everything: “They dictated statements and rehearsals, ensuring we repeated the official story to absolve the regime of blame.”

(3/20)
After the regime retook Douma, Yasser and his family were detained in Branch 251. Officials dictated what he must say on camera, re-filming until his words matched their script.

(2/20)
He stayed in Douma amid intense bombing & siege. On 7 April 2018, chemical weapons struck near Martyrs’ Square. Yasser was in constant surgeries when lethal gas flooded the emergency rooms, claiming many lives.

(1/20)
Dr. Yasser Abdulmajid from Douma says Syrian & Russian officials forced him to deny a 2018 chemical attack. This thread reveals how fear and coercion shaped his false testimony—and how he’s now speaking out.

(10/10)
The “Idlib model” doesn’t suit a modern state, says the magazine. While conservative Sunnis cheer Assad’s downfall, real tests of tolerance loom.
Will al-Sharaa’s pragmatism triumph, or will hard-liners tighten their grip? Uncertain—but hope for coexistence endures.

• The Economist cites Marwan Tayyar, an art-house director, who recalls the 14th-century Mongol conqueror Tamerlane eventually calmed in Damascus: “You can conquer Damascus, but you can’t defeat its spirit.” ✨

(9/10)
Despite tensions, Damascus keeps some openness:
• Bars remain open, though casinos were attacked.
• An art show (including nudes) may reopen at the National Museum.

(8/10)
Diplomatically, The Economist says al-Sharaa seeks global recognition for funds & sanction relief.
• Turkish-backed militias & UAE-backed groups vie for sway in “New Syria.”
• Al-Sharaa must juggle sponsors while checking jihadists pushing strict Sharia 🤔.

(7/10)
On women’s rights, there’s a clash:
• Notices insist on veiling; some offices have separate entrances.
• Al-Sharaa named a female central bank chief to show “modern” governance 🌐.
Will this balance survive the hard-liners’ pressure?

(6/10)
Minorities, esp. Alawites, face a grim reality:
• Returning Sunnis reclaim Homs homes by force.
• Preachers in nearby villages, armed, demand “kuffar” convert.
• Alawite areas fear retaliation as “old regime remnants.”

(5/10)
Another force: Ahmed al-Awdeh’s southern Sunnis (15k troops), who reached Damascus first on 8 Dec.
• The UAE partly funds him to offset Turkish-backed jihadists.
• Rivalries over territory & funding stir tension with al-Sharaa’s bloc 🤝.

(4/10)
Security: al-Sharaa refused to reinstate Assad’s police, relying on:
• 13k–35k HTS fighters
• Up to 50k Turkey-linked Sunni militiamen
• 400–2,500 foreign fighters
All prefer smuggling profits over uncertain pay 💰, making control tough.

(3/10)
The Economist contrasts Idlib’s strict past with “New Syria” in Damascus:
• Xmas, lights, mixed dancing now permitted.
• In Idlib, such acts meant execution or expulsion.
Jihadists steeped in harsh “morality codes” ⚖️ find this shift baffling.