A prominent international human rights watchdog has called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the issue of jailed activists and the protection of civilians in conflict-torn Syria, among other topics, at her upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2018) A prominent international human rights watchdog has called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the issue of jailed activists and the protection of civilians in conflict-torn Syria, among other topics, at her upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin will travel to Berlin on August 18 to meet with the German chancellor. German cabinet spokesman Steffen Seibert said earlier this week that the two leaders were expected to address bilateral relations, the situations in Syria and Ukraine as well as energy cooperation.
"This meeting is an important opportunity for Angela Merkel to press Russias president on domestic and international human rights issues ... In particular the release of jailed human rights activists in Russia and the protection of civilians in the anticipated fighting in Idlib, Syria, should be high on the agenda" Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), was quoted as saying the group's press release.
HRW said it believed that the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has the support of Moscow, had been using prohibited weapons to target civilians, which had, in turn, resulted in mass displacement and significant civilian casualties. These accusations have been repeatedly voiced by the West, albeit without any evidence. The watchdog said that Merkel should urge Putin to put pressure on Assad to stop using such tactics.
"Russian officials have been making the rounds, trying to win support for the return of Syrian refugees and commitments to give reconstruction assistance ... Chancellor Merkel should make clear Germany is not going to be making deals that would see Assad or his allies rewarded for their crimes in Syria," Williamson added.
The watchdog has also been accusing Russia of "repressive" actions against media and political activists. As an example, the watchdog mentioned the detention of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was sentenced to 20 years in a Russian prison for setting up a terrorist cell and plotting a terrorist attack in Crimea.
