Syria hosted the second session of the trial of high-ranking officials from the Assad regime last night. This is a historic first to judge the numerous crimes of the dictatorship and a real turning point in the transitional justice process. Meanwhile, authorities have intensified operations in recent weeks targeting remnants of the Assad regime. Last March, the failure of a coup attempt near the coast led to a bloody crackdown and the massacre of hundreds of Alawite civilians, the community from which the Assad clan comes. Among those arrested this year are Amjad Youssef, accused of being behind the Tadamon massacre, and three men from the Shahin family.
From our correspondent in Damascus,
On Monday, April 20, 2026, a man was killed by authorities in Syria. His name was Yemen Shahin, 45 years old, and according to his father, he was just a policeman. A policeman from the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Away from prying eyes, on the roof of his house, Shahin’s father received condolences from the village.
“It happened at six in the morning. Yemen saw the police arrive near his house, so he fled out the back. Armed men were there, and he ended up trapped,” the father recalls. From a bag, he pulls out clothes soaked in blood. “This is what we found. Pajamas and a jacket. The jacket had bullet holes and blood everywhere. I don’t understand, he was not carrying any weapons. Not a knife, not even a razor. Nothing at all,” he adds.
When contacted, Syrian authorities declined to comment on this matter. Even the father admits there are over a hundred officers in the village, many of whom are engaging in reconciliation processes with the new authorities. Ali, one of the former army recruits, expresses his concern: “This regularization changes nothing, it puts us in even more danger. At any moment, they can come and arrest us.”
A few days later, the arrest of Amjad Youssef, the presumed perpetrator of the Tadamon massacre, sparked celebrations throughout Syria. Subsequently, Miqdad Fatiha, a former officer turned insurgent group leader, threatened online to launch an uprising against authorities. “Our men are ready, filled with anger,” he declared.
In Qadmous, an Alawite village crushed by the Assad regime, these threats worry Mohamad Zeino, a former revolutionary. “It is really expected that a movement will occur at any moment in the upcoming period. We expect Assad supporters to begin attacking checkpoints, carrying out assassinations, or even explosive bombings,” he explains.
Syrian authorities claim these arrests represent progress for transitional justice. However, Mohamad Zeino argues that the process is still too slow. “We, revolutionaries from the city of Qadmous, believe that the Assad regime has not fallen in our region. The distribution of weapons continues daily. There are also salaries paid every month to remnants of these groups. Funding comes from the Iranian regime, or even Shiite militias in Iraq,” he points out.
On Sunday, the second session of the trial of top officials from the ousted regime was held in Syria. Among them, Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher were tried in absentia after their exile to Russia.
Read More: Syria: Trial of former torturers of the Assad regime, an essential step for victims’ families.
