UN / SYRIA AMBASSADOR OLABI

Following the arrest of Amjad Youssef, a suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre, Syrian Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi told journalists in New York that “Syria stands at a moment where deep sorrow meets remembrance and where justice, long awaited, begins to take shape.” UNIFEED

• Video Length: 00:03:01
• Production Date: 24 April 2026
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: IBRAHIM OLABI
• Corporate Name: SECURITY COUNCIL
• Subject Topical: ARMED CONFLICTS; HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS; INTERNATIONAL LAW; JUSTICE; PEACE AND SECURITY; HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS
• Geographic Subject: ISRAEL; SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 3560631
• Parent Id: 3560631
• Alternate Title: unifeed260424i

Description

STORY: UN / SYRIA AMBASSADOR OLABI
TRT: 03:01
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 24 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations

24 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Syrian Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi walks up to stakeout podium
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Olabi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syrian Arab Republic:
“Today, Syria stands at a moment where deep sorrow meets remembrance and where justice, long awaited, begins to take shape, echoed by the celebration of Syrians around the world. In April 2013, a horrific massacre was committed and documented in Tadamon, Damascus. Blindfolded civilians were forced towards a mass grave, dug into the street, pushed into a pit. Shot at close range and later burned in an attempt to erase both the crimes, the victims, and the memory. Since Syria's liberation, mothers and fathers and loved ones have marked those mass graves with grieves, grief, remembrance, and an unwavering insistence that the dead will not be forgotten.”

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

4. Close up, camera

24 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Olabi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syrian Arab Republic:
“Today, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Ministry of Interior, we can announce that this perpetrator has been found and arrested. However, this perpetrator and those others already in custody did not act alone. We will not rest until we reach those higher in the chain of command. The struggle of justice began before liberation and was carried out by many Syrian and international partners. Today, transitional justice is taking root from within Syria. The National Commission for Transitional Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and civil society leaders are all working together to uncover the truth, pursue perpetrators, establish the guiding framework for justice, and take forward concrete steps. The arrest announced today represents a major achievement in this national effort.”

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

6. Close up, camera

24 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Olabi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syrian Arab Republic:
“To every mother, to every father, and to every person lost a loved one in Syria, we say it very clearly here at the international forums. We will not rest until perpetrators are held accountable and justice is delivered. Your tears of pain over the years, and today your tears of relief, hope and joy are our guiding light.”

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

9. Close up, reporter taking notes on mobile device

24 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Olabi, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syrian Arab Republic:
“In the Security Council, almost every member talked about that Israel is the destabilising force at the moment. their incursions, their arrest of Syrians, the spraying of chemical materials on Syrian land is stuff that we have talked about, we are talking about and we will continue to talk about every time.”
11. Pan right, Olabi walks away

Storyline

Following the arrest of Amjad Youssef, a suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre, Syrian Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi today (24 Apr) told journalists in New York that “Syria stands at a moment where deep sorrow meets remembrance and where justice, long awaited, begins to take shape.”

Olabi said, “in April 2013, a horrific massacre was committed and documented in Tadamon, Damascus. Blindfolded civilians were forced towards a mass grave, dug into the street, pushed into a pit. Shot at close range and later burned in an attempt to erase both the crimes, the victims, and the memory. Since Syria's liberation, mothers and fathers and loved ones have marked those mass graves with grieves, grief, remembrance, and an unwavering insistence that the dead will not be forgotten.”

Today, he said, “thanks to the tireless efforts of the Ministry of Interior, we can announce that this perpetrator has been found and arrested. However, this perpetrator and those others already in custody did not act alone. We will not rest until we reach those higher in the chain of command.”

Olabi said, “to every mother, to every father, and to every person lost a loved one in Syria, we say it very clearly here at the international forums. We will not rest until perpetrators are held accountable and justice is delivered. Your tears of pain over the years, and today your tears of relief, hope and joy are our guiding light.”

Responding to a reporter’s question, he said, “in the Security Council, almost every member talked about that Israel is the destabilising force at the moment. Their incursions, their arrest of Syrians, the spraying of chemical materials on Syrian land is stuff that we have talked about, we are talking about and we will continue to talk about every time.