Émilie Pottle appears in landmark UK prosecution concerning crimes against humanity and torture in Syria

16/03/2026

Émilie Pottle appeared for the Crown at the Central Criminal Court on Friday 13 March 2026 in the landmark prosecution of R v Salem, concerning allegations of crimes against humanity and torture.

This is the first prosecution in the UK to be brought under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 in relation to crimes against humanity. The defendant, a former colonel in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate, is accused of murdering civilian protesters as part of the Syrian regime’s widespread and systematic attack against civilians in 2011. He is also accused of torturing civilians detained at an intelligence facility in the same year.

Temple Garden Chambers is a leading set in international criminal law. Members have appeared in the leading domestic prosecutions for war crimes and torture in the UK, including R v Agnes Reeves-Taylor [2019] UKSC 51 and R v Kumar Lama [2014] EWCA Crim 1729.

Members of Chambers appear before international courts and tribunals including the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the United Nations and its bodies, and regional courts including the European Court of Human Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Temple Garden Chambers also has a permanent presence in The Hague at Lange Voorhout 82.