Swiss authorities open Syrian war crimes investigation

The Syrian conflict has raged for five years and entirely destroyed parts of cities such as Aleppo, where some of the worst bombing has taken place Keystone

The Swiss Attorney General’s office has opened criminal proceedings against an individual because of suspected human rights violations in Syria. It’s one of several similar investigations currently underway. 

The latest investigation against a person currently in Switzerland who is suspected of war crimes in Syria was opened in August and was first reported by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper. According to the report, it is the second such investigation opened in Switzerland related to the Syria conflict.

No further details were provided about this newest investigation because it remains in the early stages. 

Migration authorities are required to notify justice authorities if they believe that people applying for asylum have been involved in war crimes or human rights violations. The attorney general’s office is currently investigating several such cases involving conflicts in many different countries. 

Currently, about 20 investigations are pending in Switzerland related to suspected human rights violations. Around half the cases are under preliminary investigation while the rest have been formally opened. 

Last Friday, police in canton Neuchâtel arrested a Bosnian woman and began exportation proceedings because she is being sought by her home country on charges of war crimes. The woman, who was part of the Bosnian army in the 1990s and now lives in Switzerland, is suspected of having killed a 12-year-old boy in the Srebrenica region in 1992.