BBCNew Syrian authorities promise justice for crimes committed under the Assad regime. But this is difficult, as many suffered losses of all kinds in the civil war. Sebastian Ascher met people in Damascus for whom justice is central to how they see Syria's future.
On the outskirts of the city of Douma, one of the suburbs of Damascus most devastated by the war, in a covered living room next to the fireplace, Umm Mazen recounts the 12 years during which she desperately sought news about two of her sons, who were arrested in the first years of the uprising and civil war, and were swallowed up in The security system during the Assad era.
For her eldest son, Mazen, she finally obtained a death certificate, but for Abu Hadi, no trace of him has ever been uncovered.
Her third son, Ahmed, spent three years in the security service, including eight months in the red building for political prisoners in Saydnaya prison, which is synonymous with brutality.
His front teeth were burned by the executioner's hammer. He remembers a moment when he thought he heard his brother Mazen's voice answering the roll call in the same prison, but nothing more.
What justice does Umm Mazen seek for the destruction of her family?
“There must be divine justice, coming from God,” she says.
“I saw some local men bringing shabiha (armed supporters of the regime) to kill,” he said.
“I told them: Don’t kill him, but torture him the same way he tortured our youth.”
“My two children are dead – or maybe they are dead, but there are thousands of other young people who have been tortured.
“I pray to God that Bashar (Al-Assad) will remain in an underground cell, and that Russia, which was protecting him, will not be able to help him.
“I pray to God to put him somewhere underground and leave him in oblivion, just as he left our youth in his prisons.”
Lawyer Hussein Issa sought justice for dozens of people accused of committing political crimes during the Assad era.
He faced constant pressure from the authorities over his defence, but he persisted and managed to save some of his clients from being crushed under the wheels of the security system.
But for those assigned to special terrorism courts, there was usually nothing that could be done.
The terrorism law has been looming darker in Syria as the civil war continues.
Now, with the mountain on the outskirts of Damascus visible through the window of his dilapidated, smoke-filled office, the 54-year-old lawyer says he believes many judges who were complicit with the Assad regime should be sacked and expelled. Legal measures taken against them.
But he says others from that era can still play a role in the new judiciary.
As for the enormous challenge of trying to achieve retrospective justice for the atrocities of the past 50 years, Mr. Issa says creating a judicial system capable of doing so is the most important task for the new Syrian authorities.
He added, “If this system is not good, the future of the new state will be bleak.”
“We don't know how bad things could get next. We do fear that some parties will cause strife and strife.
“If we had a strong system and state, we would not be afraid of these things.
“If we don’t have that, we will be afraid. However, since I am an optimist by nature, I think the new system will definitely be better.”
The massive building in the Syrian capital, where the Ministry of Justice is located, remained suspended for several weeks after Assad's fall.
Now, groups of lawyers gathered in elevators and hallways before the reopening of civil and criminal courts.
In her fifth-floor office, Deputy Minister of Justice Khitam Haddad says criminal and civil cases will be handled again, but the task of dealing with crimes committed under the previous regime will not be taken up for the time being. .
With her large, heavy desk covered in official papers, she says she has been a judge since 2013.
She was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice in 2023. To date, she remains in her position.
“I felt a personal responsibility for this,” she says.
“It is necessary for the work to continue, for the judges to return to their work, and for the courts to return, because as a Syrian I want my work to continue and I want this victory to continue, so that the people have nothing to lose.” afraid of.
“I want to send real and realistic messages of reassurance, not just talk.”
But some lawyers are already concerned about the transitional authorities' move to create a council to oversee the Bar Association without putting it to a vote.
Such an approach would replace one form of tyranny with another, they said in their petition.
Currently, the laws and judicial structure of the Assad era remain in place, including the terrorism law.
It may be a long time before any of those accused of committing crimes under the deposed regime are brought to trial.
The new authorities have asked Syrians not to take matters into their own hands, as videos have circulated of brutal summary justice being meted out to some former officials.
There were raids and arrests, and some of those who fled across the border were returned to Lebanon or Iraq.
But a big question remains as to whether the justice system – long an instrument of oppression – can be reshaped to meet this enormous moral and logistical challenge.
High on the mountain overlooking Damascus, Syrians, young and old, still breathe freely today – intoxicated by the cold, clear winter air – in a place that security forces have prevented entry for more than a decade.
In the cafes and stalls that have sprung up in the weeks since Assad's ouster, they stare at the city stretching out before them – with its dark memories and the promise of a different future, one in which justice and accountability might be allowed. To play a role.
