One year after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime, Belgium’s federal prosecutor is investigating 19 cases of suspected war crimes by individuals from Syria.
The investigations were revealed on Thursday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), with Belgian outlets De Tijd, Le Soir, and Knack participating.
They are part of a larger project called The Damascus Dossier, which analysed over 134,000 leaked documents from Assad’s intelligence services.
The leaked records portray widespread torture practices during Assad’s rule and suggest links to individuals currently residing in Belgium.
Inquiries within Belgium’s Syrian community raised concerns that possible perpetrators of war crimes or Assad regime allies may be present in the country.
To date, Belgium’s federal prosecutor has opened 27 cases related to breaches of international humanitarian law, including war crimes committed in Syria during Assad’s regime.
Eight cases have since been closed, according to spokesperson Yasmina Vanoverschelde, while 19 investigations remain ongoing. Some cases involve alleged members of the Islamic State who have suspected of participating in crimes against humanity.
Four of these investigations are being led by a magistrate judge. However, Brigitte Herremans, an expert at Ghent University, expressed doubts about the effectiveness of Belgium’s war crimes investigations, citing limited police resources and staffing.
She noted that while the federal prosecutor has received reinforcements, the shortage of specialised investigators for such cases persists.
