The US Senate on Tuesday passed a legislation including sanctions against the Assad regime and its backers. The Syrian Coalition hailed the move as “a step in the right direction.”
The initiative was supported by the Senate’s republican majority and received the support of 77 senators, while 23 voted against it.
The measure will be waiting to be proposed in its final version by the House of Representatives and be submitted to President Donald Trump for his signature in order for it to take effect. Such move will likely put the Assad regime and its supporters under increasing pressure as it includes the imposition of sanctions on everyone who does business with and funds the Assad regime or even those who have a role in the reconstruction projects being developed by the regime.
The bill also includes sanctions on foreigners working as military contractors or militias fighting for or on behalf of the Assad regime, Russia and Iran in Syria.
The measure also includes a list of senior regime officials, including Bashar al-Assad, his wife Asma, chiefs of the Political Security branch and the Air Force and Military Intelligence, and the Central Bank of Syria.
The Syrian Coalition described the move as “a step in the right direction that must be implemented effectively and without further delay.” It called for further raising the crimes being committed by the Assad regime against civilians in Syria through all available means and in all the courts in which lawsuit can be brought against the Assad regime to bring its symbols to justice for the crimes they committed against the Syrian people.
It stressed that these sanctions must be coupled with judicial procedures to put an end to impunity and push for practical steps towards a political solution in accordance with UN resolutions and the Geneva Communique of 2012. . (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
