(Washington Post) Josh Rogin - The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which is about to be passed by Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, authorizes sanctions on top Syrian government officials, military leaders and anyone else responsible for Assad's mass atrocities, war crimes against innocent civilians, and crimes against humanity. It also would extend sanctions to several major sectors of Syria's economy and to any government or private entity that aids Syria's military or contributes to the reconstruction of Syria - until there's accountability and justice for Assad's victims. That means the Russian military, its contract mercenaries in Syria, and its energy companies seeking Syrian oil business could be sanctioned, as well as Iranian paramilitary forces assisting Assad. The legislation is named after "Caesar," a Syrian military photographer who defected in 2013 and released 55,000 photographs of the torture and murder of thousands of civilians in Assad's prisons.
2019-12-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive