Anger mounts after Syria frees Assad-era officials accused of war crimes

Public anger is mounting in Syria following the release of several individuals accused of war crimes and massacres under the Assad regime, with growing calls for clarity on how the current administration plans to handle such cases.

Activists have circulated names and images of those released, including Fadi Saqr, a former commander of the National Defence Forces, who is accused of committing massacres during the war in the Damascus countryside.

At a press conference in Damascus on Tuesday, Hassan Soufan, a member of the Civil Peace Committee, defended the decision. He said the officers had been active since 2021 and had "voluntarily surrendered" on the Iraqi border and in the Sukhna area under what he described as a "state of trust".

"The detainees were investigated, and no charges of war crimes were proven against them," Soufan claimed. "Their continued imprisonment does not serve the national interest and has no legal basis."

He stressed that these releases were not a substitute for transitional justice, which he said was already underway and overseen by the National Committee for Transitional Justice.

"Transitional justice does not mean holding everyone who served the regime accountable," he said. "Accountability is for the major criminals who committed serious violations."

Too 'forgiving'?

Many Syrians see the government's approach as dangerously lenient, according to a report by The New Arab's Arabic language edition. Some released individuals reportedly move freely and appear in public without consequence.

Fadel Abdul Ghani, director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, warned that releasing those accused of crimes through the Civil Peace Committee "creates tension and fuels feelings of revenge and anger among Syrians, especially among victims’ families".

In comments to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Abdul Ghani said the government must explain its decisions transparently.

"This is a sensitive issue tied to victims’ rights - torture, killings, enforced disappearances. These suspects should be dealt with by an independent judiciary, not political committees," he said.

He called the releases a "grave mistake" that sends the wrong message and risks sparking individual acts of revenge, potentially plunging Syria into renewed violence.

Lawyer and human rights advocate Ghazwan Qarnful called the move "a farce".

"What civil peace are we talking about when the hands of those released are still stained with blood? If we had seen just one trial, just one killer standing in a courtroom cage, perhaps that would have done more for civil peace than what’s happening now."

He added: "Justice is the gateway to societal peace. So far, it seems the hand of justice is tied, and there is no desire to unleash it."

These developments came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last month announced the formation of a transitional justice commission to investigate regime-era violations and pursue accountability.

However, confidence in the process remains low. Many Syrians argue that little has been done to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes committed between 2011 and 2024.

While the interior ministry has reportedly arrested some military officials from the former regime, the legal proceedings that follow remain vague and largely opaque.