Syria: Suwayda protesters demand 'transitional justice' amid kidnappings

Dozens of people gathered on Friday in Al-Karama Square in the centre of Suweida city in southern Syria to demand the adoption of a transitional justice law and the prosecution of all those involved in the bloodshed of Syrians during the civil war and after.

The protests come amid renewed incidents of kidnapping and counter-kidnapping following the abduction of the head of Suweida's Transport Directorate on Thursday.

Participants in the demonstration at Al-Karama Square rejected any deals that would legitimise the impunity of criminals, stressing that transitional justice is the fundamental guarantee for protecting rights, freedoms, and civil peace.

They also emphasised that it is the only way to curb violations and acts of random and retaliatory killings.

Transitional justice is defined by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as "the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society's attempt to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past conflict, repression, violations and abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice, and achieve reconciliation".

Activists say its adoption by the new Syrian government could help advance the country's transition from dictatorship, establishing a legitimate new order characterised by the rule of law.

A conference held by a number of political and civil society groups on potentially adopting transitional justice was cancelled and banned by the Syrian government in February, with opposition activists outraged after being given no explanation.

Civil activist Imad Al-Ash'oush told The New Arab's sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the administration in Damascus was pursuing what he described as a "policy of marginalisation and exclusion".

He accused the government of monopolising decision and policy making without any regard for public opinion — which he said was reminiscent of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime

He pointed to ongoing violations in all Syrian regions and warned that these would only deepen hostility and divisions among the Syrian people.

Al-Ash'oush claimed that the Syrian leadership continues to seek to consolidate its authority through international agreements and understandings, while largely ignoring the will of the people.

Suweida had witnessed several security incidents on Friday, beginning with the kidnapping of Faisal Shahib, the head of the Transport Directorate. His abduction came just three days after the directorate resumed operations following more than four months of closure after the Assad regime’s collapse.

Sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that an armed group stormed the Transport Directorate headquarters during official working hours and forced the director to accompany them at gunpoint.

As they were leaving the building, a number of local residents confronted the group, leading to an exchange of gunfire between the two sides.

After a member of the group was captured and detained by the locals, Shahib was released just hours after his abduction.

In a related incident, the same armed group on Friday morning kidnapped a young Bedouin man originating from the village of Rima Al-Lahf. The abduction was reportedly in retaliation for an attack against one of the group’s members the previous day.

The situation was ultimately defused by the afternoon following the intervention of social and religious leaders who worked to prevent further unrest.