As-salamu alaykum - A long but necessary road to postwar justice in Syria, says rights lawyer
As-salamu alaykum. I came across this account of Radeef Mustafa, a human rights lawyer who spent years standing up to the old Syrian regime. He remembers one detention in Damascus where security shoved him into the boot of a Peugeot with three others - he jokes about his ruined tie even now. It shows how long this struggle has been going on.
Now Mr Mustafa, 58, has been named to a 13-member National Commission for Transitional Justice, set up by President Ahmad Al Shara. The commission’s job is big: look into abuses from 1970, when Hafez Al Assad took power, up to the removal of Bashar Al Assad in December 2024, and deal with the worst crimes of the civil war and the brutal crackdown that began the protests. May Allah make the truth come out and help the victims find some peace.
Mr Mustafa says the new system will try to do things properly: special courts for the worst cases, fair treatment for the accused, and an open process that seeks truth, compensation for victims, and a way to remember those who died. The aim, he stresses, is justice not revenge, and that approach could help stop revenge killings and support a five-year transition toward pluralism the authorities promise, insha'Allah.
He also speaks from personal pain. When the pro-democracy protests started in 2011, he and his four children were at demonstrations in his Kurdish hometown of Ain al-Arab. At one protest his middle son was badly struck by a security baton, and he was warned to take his family and leave or be “eliminated.” That period led him into 13 years of exile in Turkey; he returned soon after the regime fell to help build a new Syria.
The commission is finalizing a draft transitional justice law that targets war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and forced disappearances. Mr Mustafa says the current legal code, largely unchanged from the old regime, can’t handle mass, systematic crimes. The new law will include command responsibility, so superiors - even former presidents - can be held accountable for crimes they knew were happening under their command.
He admits some perpetrators may escape justice, as has happened in other conflicts, but the law should make clear to Syrians that such gross crimes can’t be repeated. During the war the regime and its allies used barrel bombs, missiles and even chemical weapons; thousands were executed, disappeared or died under torture. While many sides committed violations, the scale was greatest with the state and its backers. Mr Mustafa says all victims deserve justice, even though his commission’s focus will be mainly on holding the former regime to account.
In recent months authorities have detained hundreds of officials and security operatives, though top figures are believed to be in Russia. Mr Al Assad and senior aides reportedly went to Moscow when groups were close to taking Damascus. The new president has said Syria will pursue legal means to try to bring the former leader to justice; a Damascus judge even issued an arrest warrant related to the Deraa crackdown. Mr Mustafa wouldn’t discuss diplomatic efforts, but he believes prosecutions under the new law would strengthen the case and avoid claims of immunity.
He warns the trials will take time and resources to meet international standards. If done well, a fair and robust process can reduce calls for summary justice and tackle the corruption that corrupted courts under the old regime. May Allah grant wisdom to those seeking justice and ease the suffering of the victims.
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