PRESS RELEASE: Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Rojava vs. Turkey

Today, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Rojava vs. Turkey will come in to session, addressing allegations of severe human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Turkish government and Turkey-backed forces in north and east Syria, also known as Rojava. These accusations include actions that may constitute crimes against humanity under international law, such as the forced displacement of populations, the use of banned weapons, targeted assassinations, torture, and the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage.

“The tribunal offers justice for victims and survivors and has a chance to dramatically shift the international perception on Turkey – producing a broad consensus that Turkey is committing war crimes, paving the way for stronger international pressure to hold those responsible to account.” – Rengin Ergül member of MAF-DAD, the Association for Democracy and International Law

The program for today’s sessions includes:

  • Introduction

9:30- 9:40 Welcome speech Prof. Gerrit Loots (Free University of Brussels)

9:40-10: 05 Presentation of the PPT general secretary – Gianni Tognoni

10:05-10:45 Opening Statement by the Prosecution – Jan Fermon and Ceren Uysal

    • Session 1

10:45-11:25 Displacement of population and ethnic engineering in Afrin – Efstathios C. Efstathiou

11:25-12:05 Massacres, bombings and torture of displaced civilians in Tel Rifat – Rengin Ergül

12:05-12:20 Torture, kidnapping and arbitrary detentions in Afrin – Efstathios C. Efstathiou, and Socrates Tziazas

12:20-12:30 Questions by Judges

    • Session 2

13:30-14:20 Witness statement by Ibrahim Sheho on the situation in Afrin

14:20-15:00 Situation in Sere Kanye and Tel Abyad (Displacement of population and ethnic engineering and the use of banned weapons) – Urko Azurtza

    • Session 3

15:15-15:55 Attacks on energy infrastructure – Disruption of water supplies – Ezio Menzione

15:55-16:35 Attacks on medical infrastructure, Kobane hospital etc. – Heike Geisweid

16:35-17:15 Destruction of the environnement – Declan Owens

17:15-17:50 Questions by the judges

 

The Tribunal is co-organized by the Department of Foreign Relations and The Committee of Justice and Law of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), Center for Research and Protection of Woman’s Rights in Europe, International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies, and several other prominent human rights and international institutions. It also received endorsement from a wide range of social and political institutions, including the European Left, Progressive International, Podemos, MRAP, and the International League of Peoples’ Struggles.

Renown human rights advocates and lawyers will participate in the Tribunal as judges and prosecutors. Nine witnesses including lawyers, journalists, and politicians from both Rojava and abroad will provide testimonies as to crimes against humanity committed by the Turkish state.

For more information: https://rojavapeoplestribunal.org/

To join the livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/H_7oBEVpjqI?feature=shared

 

Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal Team

+31 686 45 30 55

press@rojavapeoplestribunal.org

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) – Campus Etterbeek – Gebouw Q: Aula QA – Brussels