DAR JUSTICE
About Us
Dar Justice works on in-depth investigations into international crimes committed in Syria with the aim of pursuing both legal and non-legal routes towards accountability.
Our investigations adopt a victim-centred approach to ensure that our work is aligned with the interests and priorities of the represented communities, and to ensure that affected communities define the accountability that they seek. We involve affected communities in the delivery of both legal and non-legal accountability initiatives, including through media and social media exposure of the documented crimes and their impacts.
We further adopt a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach to our investigative work. We are conscious of cultural and social dimensions that may inform the way in which women, religious groups, and ethnic groups experience conflict and choose to participate in accountability-seeking measures. Our goal is to create a space within the accountability field that adequately reflects and champions the diversity within communities, with the hopes of providing a more holistic view into incidents or investigations pursued. This report – and the underlying interviews and materials – was submitted to the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism on Syria (IIIM) in November 2022.
* Prior to January 2025, Dar Justice was known as the Investigations Team at the Syrian British Consortium.
The National Union of Syrian Students (NUSS) long held a surveillance role within Syrian universities. Post-2011, it assumed additional roles to stifle anti-regime sentiment on campuses, including patrolling university grounds for anti-regime activity, violently clamping down against student activism, arresting and torturing students, and handing students over to security services. Through 20 in-depth interviews with former students, professors, and NUSS members, Dar Justice’s investigation reveals the range of crimes committed by the NUSS at the University of Damascus as well as the group’s extensive cooperation and coordination with Syrian State security services.
In August 2012, the Syrian Government and allied forces carried out a brutal military campaign against Daraya, a town southwest of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The attack involved five days of indiscriminate shelling and culminated in 72 hours of door-to-door summary executions of hundreds of civilians. Hundreds more were detained or forcibly disappeared.
Dar Justice conducted a two-year investigation into this attack, including 23 witness interviews, two expert interviews, documentary evidence and open-source investigation. On the 10th anniversary of this attack, Dar Justice published a report detailing its findings regarding the crimes committed, entities responsible, and means through which the attack against Daraya was coordinated and executed.
In August 2012, the Syrian Government and allied forces carried out a brutal military campaign against Daraya, a town southwest of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The attack involved five days of indiscriminate shelling and culminated in 72 hours of door-to-door summary executions of hundreds of civilians. Hundreds more were detained or forcibly disappeared.
Dar Justice conducted a two-year investigation into this attack, including 23 witness interviews, two expert interviews, documentary evidence and open-source investigation. On the 10th anniversary of this attack, Dar Justice published a report detailing its findings regarding the crimes committed, entities responsible, and means through which the attack against Daraya was coordinated and executed.
MEET THE TEAM
YASMINE NAHLAWI
Dr Yasmine Nahlawi (PhD Public International Law, Newcastle University) is Director of Dar Justice and an international law specialist with a focus on international legal mechanisms and processes pertaining to the Syrian conflict. She has consulted and led on Syria-related international accountability initiatives including with Adalaty and the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project and has delivered trainings and guest lectures to NGOs and universities across the world. Yasmine has published widely on Syria, including her book ‘The Responsibility to Protect in Libya and Syria: Mass Atrocities, Human Protection, and International Law’ (Routledge 2020).
MUHAMMAD SHIHADEH
Muhammad Shihadeh joined Dar Justice in 2022 as an investigator. He studied English and Interpreting at Damascus University as well as Conflict Studies at King’s College London. He served as the Deputy Head of the Local Council of Daraya City and collaborated with various NGOs focused on Syria in areas including peacebuilding, education and human rights.
SEMA NASSAR
Sema Nassar is a human rights defender with a focus on detainees and forcibly disappeared persons. Since the early stages of the Syrian conflict, she worked on documenting human rights violations and sexual violence in detention centers. Sema contributed to numerous reports and policy papers on documentation, gender-sensitive accountability, and legislation concerning missing persons, including work with the Conflict and Civicness Research Group at LSE IDEAS. She is a co-founder of multiple initiatives, such as the ‘We’ Network for WHRD in the MENA region and Urnammu for Justice and Human Rights. Sema continues to share her expertise with civic actors and support feminist initiatives in the diaspora, and serves as an investigator with Dar Justice and as a research consultant at the LSE Middle East Centre.
HUSSAM KASSAS
Hussam Eddin Kassas is an open-source intelligence specialist focusing on human rights and strategic litigation, particularly within the Syrian context. Over the past six years, he has supported legal efforts and contributed to Syrian and international justice initiatives. In early 2024, Hussam joined Dar Justice as an investigator. He also works on monitoring the war economy in Syria and the associated violations.
M. YAFA
M. Yafa is a Syrian activist, investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker. Her work focuses on human rights and the protection of civilians in Syria and the wider Middle East. She serves as an investigator with Dar Justice and is also a co-editor of Syria Notes.
MAHMOUD BWEDANY
Mahmoud Bwedany is a Syrian activist from Syria’s eastern Ghouta who has been working in media and advocacy in the Syrian context since late 2017. He is Dar Justice’s Communications Coordinator, as well as a board member and volunteer with the Do Not Suffocate the Truth campaign which addresses the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
YASMINE NAHLAWI
Dr Yasmine Nahlawi (PhD Public International Law, Newcastle University) is Director of Dar Justice and an international law specialist with a focus on international legal mechanisms and processes pertaining to the Syrian conflict. She has consulted and led on Syria-related international accountability initiatives including with Adalaty and the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project and has delivered trainings and guest lectures to NGOs and universities across the world. Yasmine has published widely on Syria, including her book ‘The Responsibility to Protect in Libya and Syria: Mass Atrocities, Human Protection, and International Law’ (Routledge 2020).
MUHAMMAD SHIHADEH
Muhammad Shihadeh joined Dar Justice in 2022 as an investigator. He studied English and Interpreting at Damascus University as well as Conflict Studies at King’s College London. He served as the Deputy Head of the Local Council of Daraya City and collaborated with various NGOs focused on Syria in areas including peacebuilding, education and human rights.
SEMA NASSAR
Sema Nassar is a human rights defender with a focus on detainees and forcibly disappeared persons. Since the early stages of the Syrian conflict, she worked on documenting human rights violations and sexual violence in detention centers. Sema contributed to numerous reports and policy papers on documentation, gender-sensitive accountability, and legislation concerning missing persons, including work with the Conflict and Civicness Research Group at LSE IDEAS. She is a co-founder of multiple initiatives, such as the ‘We’ Network for WHRD in the MENA region and Urnammu for Justice and Human Rights. Sema continues to share her expertise with civic actors and support feminist initiatives in the diaspora, and serves as an investigator with Dar Justice and as a research consultant at the LSE Middle East Centre.
HUSSAM KASSAS
Hussam Eddin Kassas is an open-source intelligence specialist focusing on human rights and strategic litigation, particularly within the Syrian context. Over the past six years, he has supported legal efforts and contributed to Syrian and international justice initiatives. In early 2024, Hussam joined Dar Justice as an investigator. He also works on monitoring the war economy in Syria and the associated violations.
M. YAFA
M. Yafa is a Syrian activist, investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker. Her work focuses on human rights and the protection of civilians in Syria and the wider Middle East. She serves as an investigator with Dar Justice and is also a co-editor of Syria Notes.
MAHMOUD BWEDANY
Mahmoud Bwedany is a Syrian activist from Syria’s eastern Ghouta who has been working in media and advocacy in the Syrian context since late 2017. He is Dar Justice’s Communications Coordinator, as well as a board member and volunteer with the Do Not Suffocate the Truth campaign which addresses the use of chemical weapons in Syria.