Syria’s First Trial of Assad-Era Figure Signals Progress, but Accountability Still Falls Short

The first public trial of officials associated with former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime opened in Damascus on April 26. The defendant is Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and former head of the intelligence service’s Political Security branch in the southern province of Daraa. Najib oversaw the arrest and torture of children who had graffitied walls with anti-regime slogans. His punishments helped ignite the protests against the Assad regime that erupted in March 2011, initially in Daraa. While other trials related to the Syrian conflict have taken place in Europe, the prosecution of Najib is a notable example of a national authority prosecuting crimes committed on its own territory, rather than relying on international mechanisms. 

As part of the same case, Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher, who commanded the Syrian army’s 4th Armored Division, are being tried in absentia along with three other regime officials. Although unprecedented, the trial represents only an initial step toward accountability for the myriad war criminals in the Assad regime. In addition, it is far from clear that Damascus is prepared to hold accountable the members of its own forces implicated in crimes since Assad’s departure.

Transitional Justice Remains Partial

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has emphasized that Syria’s stability depends on accountability for all, noting “There is a fine line between transitional justice and civil peace, and we will pursue all those who have committed crimes against the Syrian people.”

Some members of the Assad regime have been arrested, but others have been released. Amjad Youssef, a Syrian officer implicated in the April 2013 Tadamon massacres that entailed the murder of more than 300 civilians, has been arrested. However, the commander who reportedly oversaw the massacre, pro-Assad paramilitary leader Fadi Saqer, was arrested but later released. He has since reportedly supported the government’s Higher Committee for Maintaining Civil Peace in its efforts to prevent sectarian reprisals and encourage local reconciliation efforts. Committee officials have argued that “engaging with some regime figures is a security necessity to prevent unrest.”

Damascus has also pursued settlement agreements with businessmen who served the Assad regime, allowing them to reenter the economy in exchange for a one-time fee set by the government’s Illicit Gain Commission, which “aims to achieve economic justice” by settling the financial status of Assad-era businessmen. These include Mohammad Hamsho, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2011 for serving “as a front to mask a senior Syrian official’s illicit and licit financial and business transactions.”

Punishment Limited for Post-Assad Crimes

In 2025, government forces, in concert with pro-government militias, carried out two massacres, one targeting the Alawite community along the Syrian coast and another against the Druze community in southern Syria. While Damascus has pledged accountability for abuses committed by its forces, action has been limited.

During the first court session for those implicated in the massacre against the Alawites, the court brought just 14 individuals to the hearing, including seven Assad loyalists and seven members of the government’s own security forces. These defendants represented only a small fraction of the 563 individuals a state-commissioned investigative committee identified as perpetrators.

In the case of the violence in southern Syria, despite both an independent international investigative body and a state-commissioned committee concluding that government forces committed violations against the Druze, no hearings have been held and no clear plans for a judicial process have been announced.

U.S. Must Demand Full Accountability

Sharaa has pledged to “achieve civil peace and pursue criminals who shed Syrian blood and committed massacres.”

President Donald Trump has given Shaara a chance to show he can rebuild Syria, lifting nearly all U.S. sanctions, normalizing relations with Damascus, and supporting its reentry into the international fold.

Washington should make clear to Sharaa that lasting peace and stability will remain out of reach so long as justice is selective and members of Shaara’s own forces are not held accountable for the crimes they have committed.

 Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Ahmad and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.