A Damascus court held 19 hearings involving suspects accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity under the ousted Assad regime.
A Syrian court specialising in transitional justice held 19 hearings on Monday involving defendants accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against civilians during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.
The hearings, held at Damascus's Fourth Criminal Court, form part of ongoing efforts to prosecute those responsible for abuses committed under the former regime.
Radif Mustafa, director of the Accountability Department at the National Commission for Transitional Justice, said late on Monday that the court had held 19 sessions, during which public trial proceedings continued, case files were read out, and evidence submissions and legal claims were presented.
The court also adjourned several cases to allow for the completion of legal procedures, including prosecution and defence submissions, the summoning of witnesses and the renewal of legal notifications.
Mustafa said the trials were continuing, adding that the number of cases and defendants reflected the scale of the judicial work required to address the legacy of serious violations committed under Assad's rule.
He stressed that accountability proceedings were moving forward in accordance with legal procedures, with defendants guaranteed the right to defend themselves, while responsibility for determining guilt and assigning criminal liability remained with the judiciary.
Mustafa also urged victims and their families, as well as anyone with complaints against the defendants or credible testimony, documents or information relating to abuses, to submit them to transitional justice courts through official channels.
He said documented complaints should not be overlooked and that relevant information must be brought into the legal verification process to help establish the truth and hold those responsible accountable based on evidence and the law.
The hearings follow a series of trials in Damascus in recent months targeting former security and military officials and other figures associated with Assad's government.
On 11 August, the Fourth Criminal Court sentenced Atef Najib, the former head of political security in Daraa, to death. It also handed down death sentences in absentia against Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad and several senior former officials.
Those sentenced included former defence minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij and former air force intelligence chief Jamil Hassan, following convictions for murder, torture and other violations classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
On 18 August, the court sentenced Wassim al-Assad, a relative of the ousted president, to death after convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Six days later, on 24 August, it sentenced former Syrian grand mufti Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun to life imprisonment over crimes linked to the former regime.
The rulings form part of Syria's transitional justice process, which aims to hold those responsible for abuses against Syrians accountable following the collapse of Assad's regime in December 2024.