Opposition demands Turkey to prosecute Assad pilot

The legal committee of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) submitted a memorandum on Friday (March 17) to the Turkish Prime Minister Ben Ali Yildirim, Minister of Justice, the competent judicial authorities in Turkey, calling for the prosecution of the Assad pilot, Mohammed Sofan, whose plane crashed on Turkish territory after perpetrating massacres against Syrian civilians.

Extradition Agreement

The chairman of the legal committee of the SNC, Haitham al-Maleh, pointed out that there is an extradition agreement between Syria and Turkey.

"On that basis, we have requested legal assistance by the Turkish judicial authorities in accordance with Article 29, paragraph 3 of the agreement," al-Maleh added.

He then explained that the memorandum called for the collection of the warplane wreckage and the pilot’s possessions and the interrogation of the Assad pilot to gather evidence against him to be used in the trial.

Al-Maleh expressed hope of prosecuting the Assad pilot who targeted residential areas in Idlib on March 4 before his plane crashed in the Turkish city of Hatay.

Crimes against Humanity

A group of Turkish lawyers had organized a strike in front of Istanbul’s Caglayan Justice Palace on March 7 to demand the prosecution of the Assad pilot.

The lawyers had submitted a memorandum to the Turkish government demanding the prosecution of Sofan.

Golan Sunmaz, one of the Turkish lawyers who joined the protest, told Orient News reporter Ammar Ezz that “according to Turkish laws, the authorities must open an investigation against the pilot. I have the names of the victims of the bombing. After the investigation, he should be tried.”

According to experts, the Turkish law allows prosecution of persons who have committed inhumane crimes against civilians in any state.

The claimants hope that this law will be a way to achieve justice for the victims.