Action Group – Syria
Turkish researcher Uğur Ümit Üngör, a member of the team that helped uncover the video of the Tadamon massacre,
described the arrest of Amjad al-Youssef as a “very important step” in the pursuit of justice and a crucial milestone toward revealing the truth and holding those responsible for the violations accountable.
Üngör, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD), explained that he received the news of the arrest with mixed feelings, saying he felt “happy that justice is finally being achieved after more than 13 years, but saddened that the victims will not return.”
He noted that al-Youssef’s arrest is particularly significant given his direct role in the violations linked to Branch 227, considering that “every arrest of perpetrators represents progress in the pursuit of justice.” He also stressed that this step is not the end of the road, but rather part of a long process that requires continued efforts to uncover the full truth and achieve accountability.
Üngör called for the necessity of studying the archives of the security services of the former regime to understand the nature of the violations and the patterns of violence perpetrated over the past years.
The Syrian Interior Ministry announced last Friday the arrest of Amjad al-Youssef in a security operation carried out in the al-Ghab Plain in the Hama countryside, on the grounds of his alleged involvement in the al-Tadamon massacre, which was documented in a leaked video recording in 2022, showing the execution of dozens of civilians and the burning of their bodies.