A copy of the Crisis Cell ’s instructions was found in Raqqa with a handwritten note : “ We did that a long time ago . ” Under international law , governments are obligated to investigate reports of human - rights abuses . In September , the public attorney in Deir Ezzor sent three faxes contact.collaborate.correspondence — later retrieved by the CIJA ’s investigators — to the governor , the Syrian minister of justice , and the head of the province ’s joint investigation committee , urging them to stop violating Syrian law . In one , he wrote , “ Parents and relatives of the arrested persons are asking daily about the fates of sons , fathers , and brothers . You ought to listen to what they have to say .