On June 10, 2025, the Committee for Civil Peace held a press conference attended by its Chair Mr. Hassan Soufan, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior Mr. Nour al-Din al-Baba, and the Minister of Information. The event aimed to promote dialogue and national consensus to reach sustainable solutions that foster stability and civil peace.

However, the conference included controversial remarks—most notably those made by Mr. Hassan Soufan regarding the release of certain officers affiliated with the former regime and the granting of safety guarantees to Fadi Saqr, on the grounds of what was described as his “cooperation with the state during the liberation battle.”

While we acknowledge the complex challenges Syrians face and the importance of cooperation across different sectors of society to achieve a shared vision that serves the public good—and while we support initiatives that genuinely aim to strengthen civil peace—we in the Syrian Women’s Political Movement, out of our national and ethical responsibility, condemn these statements for several fundamental reasons.

First, the Committee for Civil Peace was originally established in the aftermath of the coastal massacres, with a specific mandate to promote civil peace in that region. With its recent statements, the Committee has overstepped its founding purpose and legal mandate, and encroached on the role of the Transitional Justice Authority—the legitimate body responsible for justice and accountability.

We reaffirm the urgent need to launch a genuine, transparent, and structured transitional justice process. We stress that civil peace committees do not have the legal authority to release individuals or grant safety guarantees. Their role must remain supportive, without interfering in the jurisdiction of the independent judiciary or other competent institutions.

Furthermore, we emphasize that an independent judiciary is the only body legally mandated to address war crimes, conduct fair trials, and issue judicial rulings.

We call on the Syrian Transitional Government to stop using civil peace initiatives as political tools to absolve perpetrators of crimes. We reaffirm that there can be no real peace without justice, no stability without accountability, and no homeland without honoring the dignity of its victims.

We remind all concerned that Fadi Saqr is a war criminal implicated in the Tadamon Massacre and must be referred to a fair and independent trial—not rewarded or granted immunity. Such acts are a blatant insult to the blood of the victims and the suffering of their families.

We demand that all individuals implicated in crimes against Syrians be held accountable. The families of the detained, the disappeared, and all victims of the war are awaiting truth, justice, and redress—not the legitimization of impunity.

Justice for all who have faced oppression and violence

General Secretariat of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement

Friday, June 13, 2025