Sara Kayyali is the Syria researcher in the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, where she investigates human rights and international humanitarian law violations in Syria. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, she was a legal analyst at the Syrian Legal Development Program, where she provided research and capacity-building support on human rights and humanitarian legal issues arising out of the Syrian conflict. Kayyali previously worked with civil society on regional and international advocacy and policy-making around key issues in the Arab region as the policy and advocacy program specialist at the Arab regional office of the Open Society Foundations. Diwan interviewed her in mid-May to get her perspective on how human rights law might be applied to Syrian officials, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.