Demand an end to impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity - Sign our petition today.
My name is Afraa Hashem, and before the Syrian revolution began in 2011, I was a teacher in Aleppo, working hard side by side with my husband to protect our small family, nurture our children’s dreams, and give them a life worthy of their dignity.
When Syrians took to the streets demanding freedom, my husband and I joined the peaceful protests. For that, I was detained several times, and I lost my unborn child. Our home was shelled, and I lived through siege, bombardment, and repeated displacement. Still, I refused to stop. I opened a series of field schools, created a children’s choir, and helped establish psychosocial centers for children and women’s empowerment centers. Under the bombs, we clung to one small idea: to keep a spark of hope in our children’s eyes that tomorrow could be different.
On December 8, 2024, when the regime finally fell and Assad fled Syria to Moscow, I was in exile in London. I watched the news with burning pain and a deep sense of injustice, being exiled while my country’s future was changing without me, connected with friends in the diaspora, remembering those we lost and reliving every moment of arrest, siege, and displacement.
After 14 years of Assad’s rule, the evidence of his crimes is overwhelming and well documented. According to The Syrian Network for Human Rights at least 15,102 people died under torture, including children and women; his forces dropped more than 81,000 barrel bombs, killing over 11,000 civilians; he oversaw 217 chemical weapons attacks. More than 6.8 million Syrians were displaced inside the country, and 7 million were forced to seek safety abroad. Yet Assad and his senior officials continue to live freely in Moscow, in other safe havens around the world, and even in Syria, protected by the inaction of the international community.
Today I’m asking you to sign this petition calling on governments around the world to support the establishment of a Syrian-led hybrid Special Court to finally bring Assad and his officials to justice. If we raise our voices together and demand action now, the international community has a real opportunity to end impunity and uphold international law.
I lost a part of my soul every time I lost a friend. Many of them disappeared, swallowed by detention, shelling, or sniper bullets. Among them were my dear cousins, Bakri and Basel. One year on and we are yet to see any real steps towards holding the criminals accountable. Impunity suffocates our dreams and gives the green light for future atrocities.
One year after the fall of Assad’s regime, it is crucial that our voices come together to demand what the international community has still failed to do: end the impunity enjoyed by Assad and his cronies. Sign this petition to call for the establishment of a Syrian-led hybrid Special Court to finally bring the dictator and his officials to justice and to ensure these crimes are never repeated.
For us as survivors and families of the victims, justice is essential for building a united and peaceful country. We will never have a truly safe society without acknowledging our past suffering, holding perpetrators to account, and providing redress to those harmed. It is real courage to confront the past and ensure that justice paves the way to a better future.
Your support gives families like mine hope that justice and accountability are still possible.
In solidarity,
Afraa
P.S. The “Bring Assad to Justice” poster was created by award-winning Syrian multidisciplinary designer/artist Ranim AlHalaky and Syrian multidisciplinary designer Kinda Ghannoum.