Syria hosted last night the second session of the trial of senior dignitaries of the Assad regime. It is a historic first to judge the numerous crimes of the dictatorship, and a real turning point in the transitional justice process. At the same time, the authorities have increased operations in recent weeks targeting the remnants of the Assad regime. Last March, the failure of a coup attempt near the coast led to a bloody repression and the massacre of hundreds of Alawite civilians, the community from which the Assad clan comes. Among those arrested this year: Amjad Youssef, accused of being at the origin of the Tadamon massacre. But also three men from the Shahin family.Â
From our correspondent in Damascus,
Monday April 20, 2026, a man was killed by the authorities in Syria. His name was Yemen Shahin, he was 45 years old and was, according to his father, a simple police officer. A simple policeman, yes, but from the regime of Bachar el-Assad. It is out of sight, on the roof of his house, that Shahin’s father receives the condolences of the village.
“It happened at six in the morning. Yemen saw the police arriving near his house, so he fled out the back. There were armed men there, and he got stuck.”says the father. From a bag, he takes out clothes soaked in blood. “That’s what we found. Pajamas and a jacket. The jacket had bullet holes and blood everywhere. I don’t understand, he didn’t have any weapons on him. Neither a knife, nor even a razor. Nothing at all”he adds.
When contacted, the Syrian authorities refused to comment on this matter. By the father’s own admission, there are more than a hundred officers in this village. Most, he assures, have initiated a process of reconciliation with the new authorities. Ali, who is one of these former army recruits, expresses his concern: “This regularization changes nothing, it puts us in even more danger. At any time, they can come and arrest us. HAS”
A few days later, the arrest of Amjad Youssef, presumed responsible for the Tadamon massacre, sparked widespread Syria scenes of jubilation. In the process, Miqdad Fatiha, a former officer who became the leader of an insurgent group, threatened online to launch an uprising against the authorities. “Our men are ready”at-il déclaré, You are filled with anger. »
In Qadmous, a village on the Alawite coast crushed by the Assad regime, these threats worry Mohamad Zeino, a former revolutionary. “It is definitely expected that a movement will occur at any time in the coming period. Assad supporters are expected to start attacking dams, carrying out assassinations and even bombings.”he explains.
The Syrian authorities claim that these arrests constitute progress for transitional justice. Nothing is enough, replies Mohamad Zeino, for whom the process remains too slow. “We, revolutionaries from the city of Qadmous, consider that the Assad regime has not fallen in our region. The distribution of weapons continues daily. There are also salaries paid each month to the remnants of these groups. Funding that comes from the Iranian regime, or even from Shiite militias in Irak »he specifies.
On Sunday, the second session of the trial of senior dignitaries of the fallen regime was held in Syria. Among them, Bashar el-Assad and his brother, Maher, tried in absentia after their exile in Russia.
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