In cooperation with the Syrian Government, the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) has conducted its first evidence collection in the Syrian Arab Republic.
The IIIM team was given access to visit and document the Al-Khatib detention facility, formerly operated by General Intelligence Branch 251. For years, survivors and former detainees have provided testimonies describing the widespread and systematic use of torture, cruel treatment, and inhumane conditions of detention at this facility.
The site still bears visible traces of the atrocities committed within its walls. The operation, conducted with the support of the Syrian Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, will contribute to ongoing and future judicial proceedings aimed at holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
By preserving sites of abuse and rigorously collecting evidence, the IIIM and Syrian authorities aim to support justice processes, upholding victims’ rights, and ensuring that grave violations are neither erased nor forgotten.
Dutch Newspaper Trouw Interview with IIIM Deputy Head
30 January 2026– In an interview with Trouw, IIIM Deputy Head, Michelle Jarvis, discussed why gender perspectives matter in international criminal law and accountability work.
Ms. Jarvis stated that a gender perspective helps investigators uncover harms and patterns that standard approaches can overlook. She referred to Bosnia and Srebrenica to show how violence can affect gender groups differently. She also noted that legal practice has progressed in treating sexual violence as a core international crime, however stigma continues to affect what survivors feel able to disclose.
From her work on Syria, Ms. Jarvis stated that some harms remain under-recorded. She noted that women and girls often had less access to medical treatment and suffered later from health complications after chemical weapons attacks. She added that early documentation drew mainly on statements from men which meant gendered consequences were not fully captured.
Read the full article here.
Copyrights of the photo: Brechtje Rood