Syria is expected to witness a series of judicial hearings in the coming days as part of the country’s transitional justice process, including the trials of several figures, according to an official in the National Commission for Transitional Justice.
Radif Mustafa, director of the Accountability Department at the commission, said that a session is being held on Sunday, 21 June, for the trial of defendant Abdul Nasser Barraq, while a new hearing in the trial of Atef Najib is set to resume on Monday, 22 June.
He added that Wednesday, 24 June, will see the first trial session for Wassim al-Assad, while Thursday, 25 June, will see the first hearing in the trial of Ahmed Hassoun, the former mufti under the Syrian regime.
Mustafa stressed that the transitional justice process is not limited to holding defendants accountable but also aims to do justice to victims, empower them, and guarantee their rights as part of efforts to address violations linked to the previous phase.
Ahmed Hassoun in Judicial Custody
Former Syrian Mufti Ahmed Badr al-Din Hassoun, known as the “mufti of barrel bombs,” was detained after judicial procedures linked to his positions during the years of the revolution that broke out in 2011 and his support for the former regime in confronting it.
Hassoun was detained at Damascus International Airport while trying to leave Syria, after the public prosecutor at the Syrian Ministry of Justice issued an arrest warrant against him, according to judicial sources.
Syrian Minister of Justice Mazhar al-Wais said former regime mufti Ahmed Badr al-Din Hassoun is in judicial custody, noting that his file was referred from the Ministry of Interior to the competent investigating judge to complete the legal procedures against him.
Al-Wais’s remarks came in response to what circulated at the time on social media about the government’s alleged intention to execute Hassoun, alongside rumors about the deterioration of his health. He described these reports as inaccurate and intended to stir confusion and influence the judiciary’s course.
Wassim al-Assad Arrested
The Ministry of Interior arrested Wassim al-Assad, a relative of the ousted President Bashar al-Assad, on 21 June 2025.
The Ministry of Interior said in a statement published on its official accounts that the General Intelligence Service, in cooperation with the relevant bodies in the ministry, managed to lure Wassim al-Assad in a tightly planned security operation.
Syrian Ministry of Interior spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba said the security operation that led to the arrest of Wassim al-Assad, a relative of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, lasted six months and was carried out in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service.
Wassim al-Assad appears before the investigating judge to hear the charges against him, 30 September 2025 (Ministry of Justice, screenshot
Wassim al-Assad’s Crimes
Nour al-Din al-Baba, the Interior Ministry spokesperson, revealed that the charges against Wassim al-Assad, according to what is personally documented against him, include the most prominent crimes he confessed to, related to drug trafficking, forced kidnapping, torture, and other cases tied to the file of Syrian detainees.
He took part in combat operations alongside the militias of the ousted regime against the Syrian people. This information is documented through his posts and activity on social media, and no doubt expanded investigations will reveal more crimes in which he was involved, according to al-Baba.
Al-Baba confirmed that the crimes committed by Wassim al-Assad brought him hundreds of millions of dollars, most of them from drug trafficking, extorting Syrians, and selling the fate of detainees.
He explained that the fate of the money and property held by Wassim al-Assad, inside and outside Syria, will be “in the hands of the judiciary,” especially his funds frozen abroad after his money was frozen due to international sanctions imposed on him. The relevant authorities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work to recover those funds with support from the Ministries of Justice and Interior, to submit the required evidence and take the necessary legal measures in this regard.
“Death Penalty” Ruling Denied
The Syrian Ministry of Justice denied on 2 October 2025 that death sentences had been issued against several officials in the Assad regime.
The Ministry of Justice had announced the start of receiving the files of some detainees held over crimes and violations committed against the Syrian people, in coordination with its Interior Ministry counterpart, and the launch of public prosecution proceedings against them.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement published last July that it had worked to build an appropriate institutional foundation for judicial reform and had taken decisive steps to exclude judges involved in human rights violations.
In a separate statement, the ministry explained that after the Ministry of Interior referred several files of defendants accused of committing violations, the public prosecutor began studying the reports and documents submitted. On that basis, public prosecution proceedings were initiated against:
Atef Najib, son of Najib and Fatima, was born in Jableh in 1960.
Ahmed Badr al-Din Hassoun, son of Mohammad Adib and Hamida, was born in Aleppo in 1949.
The public prosecutor confirmed their referral to the competent investigating judge to begin the investigation and take legal procedures in accordance with due process.
The Justice Ministry called on relevant human rights and humanitarian organizations to submit any files and documents they have that could contribute to revealing the truth.
The ministry stressed that the Public Prosecution is committed to achieving justice and will make all necessary efforts to pursue those involved in these crimes and hold them accountable to guarantee the rights of victims and their families.
The head of the National Commission for Transitional Justice, Abdul Basit Abdul Latif, said the referral of some perpetrators of violations to the Public Prosecution and the launch of public prosecution proceedings against them before the investigating judge were carried out in consultation among the justice minister, the public prosecutor, and the head of the National Commission for Transitional Justice.
Syrian Justice Ministry Denies Death Sentences for Assad-Era Officials
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