Syrian rights activists confirmed that the arrest of Ali Kiiali, known as "Ma'raj Ural," who was responsible for the 2013 Baniyas massacres, represents an important step toward uncovering the truth, holding perpetrators accountable, and vindicating victims, stressing the necessity of completing investigations and trials in accordance with legal procedures to ensure impunity is not granted.
Syrian Bar Association President Mohammed Ali Al-Taweel stated that Kiiali's arrest constitutes a crucial milestone in the path of enforcing the rule of law and crowns the long wait of Syrians for the prosecution of those accused of committing crimes against them, affirming that judicial procedures will take their course to ensure the defendant is held accountable according to proper legal standards.
For his part, Samer Al-Dai'i, head of the Association of Free Syrian Human Rights Defenders, confirmed that Kiiali's arrest is an important step in the criminal prosecution path for those responsible for serious crimes, noting that the case takes on a cross-border judicial dimension in light of the accusations against him in Turkey regarding the 2013 Reyhanli bombings, which necessitates Syrian-Turkish judicial cooperation and the exchange of evidence.
Al-Mu'tasim Billah Al-Kilani, director of the Rased Syria Network, clarified that Kiiali's arrest is an essential part of acknowledging the suffering of those affected and preserving their dignity in the path of uncovering the truth and vindicating victims, stressing that actual accountability requires preserving evidence, protecting witnesses and survivors, and enabling victims and their families to participate safely in judicial procedures.
The General Intelligence Directorate had announced the arrest of Kiiali while he was attempting to flee across the border in a joint operation with Turkish intelligence, where the massacres of Al-Bayda village and Ras Al-Na'ab neighborhood occurred on May 2 and 3, 2013, resulting in the deaths of 459 civilians, including 92 children and 71 women, according to documentation by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
The city of Reyhanli in Turkey's Hatay province, near the Syrian border, also witnessed two car bomb explosions on May 11, 2013, targeting the surroundings of the municipal building and the post office, resulting in the deaths of 53 people and injuring more than 100 others. Turkish investigations confirmed Kiiali's involvement and that of several individuals linked to the intelligence agencies of the fallen regime in planning and executing the terrorist attack.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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