Syrian Opposition Delegation in US, Calls Against Normalizing Ties with Regime

The Syrian delegation meets with American officials in Washington. (National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces of Syria)
The Syrian delegation meets with American officials in Washington. (National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces of Syria)
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Syrian Opposition Delegation in US, Calls Against Normalizing Ties with Regime

The Syrian delegation meets with American officials in Washington. (National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces of Syria)
The Syrian delegation meets with American officials in Washington. (National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces of Syria)

A delegation from the National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces of Syria and the Syrian Negotiations Commission held talks with Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations Richard Mills in Washington on Tuesday.

Discussions touched on the latest developments in the political process in Syria.

The delegation included Coalition President Salem al-Meslet, head of the Syrian Negotiations Commission Badr Jamous, co-chair of the Constitutional Committee Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian interim government Abdurrahman Mustafa, and members of the Negotiations Commission Ibrahim Berro and Fadwa al-Ujaili.

In a statement, the Coalition said the meeting focused on the need to revive the political process, implement UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to reach a real political transition in Syria, and pressure Bashar al-Assad's regime to seriously engage in the political process.

The delegation underscored the importance of maintaining the sanctions imposed on the regime under the Caesar Act and preventing any attempt to normalize ties with it.

Moreover, it stressed that the tepid response to the regime’s crimes encouraged Iran to intervene in the region and Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine.

The delegation also underlined the need to ensure accountability, seek the release of detainees and the forcibly disappeared in regime prisons, and ensure humanitarian access to Syrians in need.



UN Condemns Israeli Minister for Taunting Palestinian Prisoner

File photo of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti taken in May 2004. REUTERS - Reuters Photographer
File photo of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti taken in May 2004. REUTERS - Reuters Photographer
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UN Condemns Israeli Minister for Taunting Palestinian Prisoner

File photo of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti taken in May 2004. REUTERS - Reuters Photographer
File photo of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti taken in May 2004. REUTERS - Reuters Photographer

The UN's human rights office on Tuesday condemned a far-right Israeli minister for taunting a Palestinian prisoner in his cell and sharing the footage online.

National security minister Itamar Ben Gvir published a video on Friday last week showing him confronting Marwan Barghouti, the most high-profile Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody.

UN Human Rights Office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said the footage was unacceptable, adding: "The minister's behavior and the publication of the footage constitute an attack on Barghouti's dignity."

Barghouti, now in his sixties, was sentenced in 2004 to life in prison on murder charges, AFP reported.

Regarded as a terrorist by Israel, he often tops opinion polls of popular Palestinian leaders and is sometimes described by his supporters as the "Palestinian Mandela".

"International law requires that all those in detention be treated humanely, with dignity, and their human rights respected and protected," said Kheetan.

He warned that the minister's actions "may encourage violence against Palestinian detainees" and enable rights violations in Israeli prisons.