Bashar al-Assad's trial in absentia begins in Damascus as part of the transitional justice process

The Criminal Court in Damascus witnessed a historic scene with the start of the first session of transitional justice, where Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Erian called for the 'first defendant Bashar al-Assad' who fled to Moscow after the fall of his regime in December 2024. While Assad and his brother Maher were absent, their cousin Atef Naguib was handcuffed in the dock as the head of the former Political Security Branch in Daraa. A spokesman for the Syrian Ministry of Justice confirmed that the trial came after the completion of All legal procedures, noting that holding them in public aims to enhance transparency and the independence of the judiciary. Attorney General Hossam Khattab explained that Najib's appearance carries a great symbolic significance as he was one of the first to give orders to shoot peaceful demonstrators in Daraa in 2011. International law professor Raed Abu Badawiya considers that this trial represents a 'complex political-legal moment' that redraws the boundaries of the relationship between power and accountability, and that one Its strategic goals are to withdraw Moscow's immunity cover for Assad. However, he maintains that in practice its recovery is complicated in the absence of binding international extradition agreements or decisions. For his part, the Syrian researcher Hossam al-Hafez questions the legal value of the trial internationally, explaining that the Syrian Penal Code of 1949 does not include descriptions of war crimes or crimes against humanity. However, he believes that it will provide important documentary material from evidence and testimonies that can be leveraged In the future, the two experts agree that the success of the trial lies not in bringing Assad to the cage soon, but in turning his file into a legal 'time bomb' that pursues him and his allies. The court postponed the next hearing to May 10, as part of a series of trials that will not stop, according to Syrian officials.