Recent death-penalty verdicts against nine former Assad-regime figures were widely welcomed by Syrians but felt hollow and symbolic, as eight of the defendants (including Bashar and Maher al-Assad) were tried in absentia and remain beyond the reach of Syrian justice under Russian protection. 

The sole in-person trial of Atef Najib was rushed, lacked witnesses and victim testimony, and raised concerns among human-rights groups about fair-trial standards, highlighting the absence of a mature legal framework for transitional justice. 

Genuine healing requires independent, comprehensive transitional-justice mechanisms that prioritise truth-telling and reconciliation over quick revenge, hold all perpetrators (including some opposition and current forces) accountable, and treat the Assad legacy with the seriousness demanded by the scale of the crimes.

While there was an extraordinary outpouring of joy among Syrians last week, it appeared somewhat transitory. The trial of nine members of the former regime and resulting death penalty verdicts were widely welcomed. Yet there was a sense of what might have been, a missed opportunity. For others, it was yet another moment to reflect on all the horrors of the five decades of the Assad regime, some 20 months after Bashar Al-Assad was ousted.

Few Syrians think Assad and his henchmen, including his brother Maher, are not guilty of serious crimes. Loyalists to the regime even acknowledge this. A proper court and a fair trial are prerequisites to officially determining that........

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