As Syria navigates the tumultuous aftermath of President Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power, a surprising courtroom battle has illuminated just how little has changed beneath the surface. Despite the collapse of the regime, key figures tied to Assad-era corruption and human rights abuses are not only walking free-they are also leveraging the fragile judicial system to attack critics. The latest example: Mohammed Hamsho, a US-sanctioned businessman and longtime Assad ally, has launched a defamation lawsuit against Syrian activist and entrepreneur Abdel Hamid Al Assaf.

The case, which Assaf describes as emblematic of the “corruption entrenched in the Syrian judiciary,” has triggered widespread outrage and laid bare the lingering power of Assad-linked elites in a country desperate for genuine reform.

Mohammed Hamsho, 59, was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2011 for his deep financial ties to the Assad regime, as well as by the UK and the European Union. Accused of profiteering from Syria’s ruin-including the trading of rubble from bombed neighborhoods-Hamsho also allegedly acted as a financial proxy for Maher al-Assad, Bashar’s brother and former leader of the brutal Fourth Armored Division. That unit was heavily implicated in atrocities during the civil war and has been linked to Syria’s booming illicit Captagon trade.

Despite these serious allegations, Hamsho and........

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