Bio
Alicia Medina
Alicia Medina is a Spanish journalist based in Beirut. Her work has been published in international media outlets and she holds a master’s degree in Journalism, Media and Globalisation from the Erasmus Mundus program.
Latest Articles
Syrian authorities stall identification efforts as Pylos shipwreck families struggle for answers
One month after the Pylos shipwreck, only 25 of 82 bodies recovered from the sea have been identified—a challenging process that requires DNA samples to be collected across multiple countries. In Syria, authorities have still not authorized DNA collection from relatives of the missing.
After the earthquake, a wave of gender-based violence in Syria
Civil society groups and humanitarian workers documented a rise in cases of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and domestic violence in shelters following the February 6 earthquake that killed and displaced tens of thousands in Turkey and Syria. Did the emergency response include enough protections for women and girls?
Three Syrian survivors counter Greek authorities’ Pylos shipwreck narrative: ‘They tied a rope, we capsized, they sailed away’
Around 150 Syrians were among the estimated 750 people on board the vessel that capsized near Pylos last Wednesday. Only 104 people survived, including between 30 and 40 Syrians. Survivors held Greek coast guards responsible for the shipwreck and delayed rescue efforts.
‘Impunity is not an option’: Syrian regime torture before the ICJ
The Netherlands and Canada are taking Syria to the top UN court for the systemic use of torture, while a General Assembly vote is expected this month on the establishment of a mechanism to clarify the fate of Syria’s disappeared.
Cautious relief among Syrian refugees in Turkey after Erdoğan’s victory
After opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu vowed to deport all Syrian refugees from Turkey, Erdoğan’s win in Sunday elections brought Syrian refugees a partial sense of safety—tarnished by spiking anti-refugee sentiment in Turkey and the continued threat of deportation.
Assad grins at the Arab League summit, and Syrians in exile recoil
The images of Bashar al-Assad’s return to the Arab League summit on May 19 sent chills running through displaced Syrians in exile.
Between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu: What will their Syria policy look like?
Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu will vie for the Turkish presidency in a runoff election on May 28th. Were Kılıçdaroğlu to win, Ankara’s policy on Syrian refugee return, normalization with Bashar al-Assad and Turkey’s policy in northern Syria could undergo major shifts.
1,100 Syrian refugees arrested, 600 deported from Lebanon in unprecedented crackdown
A wave of swift door-to-border deportations is terrorizing Syrians in Lebanon, with more than 1,100 refugees arrested and 600 deported in April.
Lebanese officer indicted for torture death of Syrian refugee back on the job
Four of the five Lebanese State Security officers indicted last November for the torture death of Syrian refugee Bashar Abdul Saud were released on bail this month, one of whom is back at work, while the victim’s family and lawyer have been pressured to drop their complaint.
Accountability abroad: Mapping Syria-related cases in foreign courts
From the landmark Koblenz trial in Germany to the latest indictment of three high-ranking Syrian regime officials in France, the battle to hold perpetrators accountable for wartime atrocities in Syria is being waged in foreign courts. What kinds of cases are being brought, and where?