From Hind Rajab to Hamza Khatib: Barbaric murders that go unpunished

Her own body was finally found days later, alongside the paramedics who had so bravely tried to save her. It sent shockwaves through the Arab world.

The United States implored Israeli officials to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation. It is unlikely that any Israeli will ever serve any prison time for her killing.

From Gaza to Siberia

Days later and thousands of kilometres away, in a Siberian penal colony in the Arctic winter, prison authorities revealed that Alexei Navalny, by far the most prominent Russian opposition figure, had died there.

The Kremlin claimed it had no details of the cause of the death, prompting Russian officials to initiate an inquiry into the matter.

The prison service said he "felt unwell" after a walk and collapsed. At the time of writing, his body had still not been released to his family. One wonders why.

Given that Navalny was the arch nemesis of Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is unlikely that any Russian prison officer will ever serve any custodial time for the death.

In the same week, Lebanon observed the 19th anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

He ended the country's civil war, brought inflation down from 131% to 12%, and rebuilt Beirut, to name but three of his achievements.

He was killed by a suicide truck bomb on 14 February 2005. The finger was pointed at Syria and Hezbollah, specifically four Hezbollah operatives.

They were only tried in absentia. No one has ever served prison time for his killing. It is highly unlikely that they ever will.

Crimes past and present

As the Lebanese remembered Hariri, Syrians remembered those killed in the Hama massacre in February 1982, during which tens of thousands died. It remains the single deadliest act of violence by an Arab state against its own people.

Like the other examples listed, the perpetrators of the Hama massacre were known. The orders were given by Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his brother Rifaat. They were carried out by the Syrian army and Alawite militias.

In 2000, the world was again moved to tears by the heartwrenching video of Muhammad al-Durra, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy shot and killed in Gaza while his father tried to shield him from the bullets during the Second Intifada.

Again, the world knows who killed him, but an Israeli investigation concluded that no Israelis were responsible. 

The Israelis even suggested that his killing may have been staged for propaganda purposes. The man who took the video was never interviewed for their investigation.

In Syria, the name of Hamza al-Khatib will long be remembered. He took part in an anti-government protest in Dara'a in 2011 and was arrested.

He was killed in detention and his body released. It was covered in lacerations, bruises, burns, and bullet holes through his arms and side. His neck had been broken and his penis had been cut off. He was 13-year-old.

Barbarity unpunished

Hind Rajab, Alexei Navalny, Rafik Hariri, Muhammad al-Durra, Hamza al-Khatib, the residents of Hama… the architects of heinous acts, whether in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, or Ukraine, are often identified, yet seldom brought to justice.

As a result, the crimes continue, whether it was the wave of assassinations and bombings that plagued Lebanon in the aftermath of Hariri's killing, or the poisonings, plane crashes, and 'falls' from 12-storey buildings in Russia.

The world has been a witness to the most appalling barbarity and everyone knows who was behind it, yet time and time again, nothing is done, no-one is held accountable, and no-one is punished.

Neither statements of condemnation nor the public's shock and anger will change the status quo.

Those with the power to halt this monstrosity appear to have no interest in doing so. They simply justify the perpetrators. 'Self-defence' is used a lot.

The 21st century offers unimaginable wealth, power, technological prowess, luxury, and knowledge.

Our understanding of fairness and justice is also well developed. Yet still we see and hear such inhumane brutality.

Those committing it are determined to drag us back to the Dark Ages. Without change, we will all soon enter a new Era of Barbarism.