Public Report on Syria: Justice for the Hama Massacre

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Exactly 39 years ago, Syrian armed forces began besieging the city of Hama as a retaliation for an attempted uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood. In little less than a month in February 1982, the troops of Hafez al-Assad carried out a full-scale massacre that cost the lives of tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians. Rifaat al-Assad, brother of the President, who was leading the Defense Brigades, has been denying his involvment in these events ever since. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has been investigating Rifaat al-Assad for war crimes since December 2013, following a criminal complaint filed by TRIAL International.