The prosecution of former officials accused of grave violations represents a historic opportunity for Syria to rebuild confidence in the judiciary and affirm the principle that no one is above the law. Yet the success of these trials should not be measured only by the number of defendants or the severity of sentences. It must also be judged by the justice system’s ability to recognise victims, enable their participation, protect them, and address the harm they have suffered.
A victim is not merely a witness called by the prosecution to prove a charge, nor a means of strengthening the case against an accused person. Victims are independent rights-holders whose dignity and legal interests must be respected from the beginning of an investigation through trial, judgment, reparations, and enforcement.
Who Qualifies as a Victim?
The legal concept of a victim is not limited to a person who directly endured killing, torture, detention, enforced disappearance, or another violation. It may also include family members and dependants, as well as people harmed while attempting to assist the direct victim.
The United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power makes clear that victim status does not depend on whether the perpetrator has been identified, arrested, prosecuted, or convicted. Victims’ rights therefore continue to exist even when the person directly responsible cannot be identified or brought before a court.
In the Syrian context, this definition should include survivors of detention and torture; families of those killed, missing, or forcibly disappeared; survivors of sexual violence; displaced people deprived of their homes or property; children subjected to violations; and people who have sustained psychological or economic harm as a result of serious crimes.
The Right to Information
For years, one of the gravest hardships faced by Syrian families has been the systematic denial of information. Families searched for detained or disappeared relatives across security branches, courts, prisons, and hospitals without receiving clear answers or gaining access to reliable records.
Victims should therefore receive regular and understandable information about:
- The judicial authority handling the case.
- The charges brought against the accused.
- Hearing dates and the different stages of the proceedings.
- Decisions concerning detention or release.
- Procedures for joining the case as a civil claimant or seeking compensation.
- The judgment and available avenues of appeal.
- Any measure that may affect the safety of victims or witnesses.
The right to information does not require every detail of an investigation to be made public. Witness protection and the integrity of evidence may justify temporarily withholding certain information, but any restriction must be lawful, reasoned, proportionate, and subject to review.
The Right to Participate and Be Heard
Meaningful participation goes beyond summoning a victim to give evidence. Subject to national law and the guarantees of a fair trial, victims should be able to present their views and concerns whenever the proceedings affect their personal interests.
Participation may include:
- Submitting complaints, evidence, and relevant information.
- Joining proceedings as a personal or civil claimant through a lawyer.
- Attending public hearings.
- Expressing views on protection and privacy measures.
- Claiming compensation and other forms of reparation.
- Challenging decisions where the law provides a right of appeal.
- Receiving interpretation or other forms of assistance when necessary.
Participation must not shift the entire burden of proving a criminal case onto victims. Investigating crimes, preserving evidence, and bringing charges are responsibilities of state institutions. Victims must not be left alone to confront defendants or institutions connected to alleged perpetrators.
Protection from Retaliation and Re-traumatisation
Many victims may hesitate to approach the courts because they fear threats, social stigma, exposure of their identity, or retaliation against their families. The risks are particularly acute for survivors of sexual violence, children, and people living in insecure areas.
Syrian proceedings therefore need an integrated victim and witness protection programme that provides:
- Confidentiality for addresses and contact details.
- Non-disclosure of identity where exposure would create a serious risk.
- Protection from unnecessary direct contact with the accused.
- The possibility of giving certain testimony remotely.
- Separate waiting areas inside court buildings.
- Effective criminal accountability for threats or interference with witnesses.
- Psychological and social support before and after testimony.
- Training for judges and lawyers on trauma-informed practice.
Protective measures must not be used in a way that undermines the accused person’s right to know and challenge the evidence. Courts must strike a careful balance between witness safety and defence rights through lawful measures subject to judicial oversight.
The Right to the Truth
For families of missing and forcibly disappeared persons, justice cannot be reduced to a criminal sentence. Families need to know what happened, where their relative was held, which bodies were responsible, whether the person is alive, and—if they died—where their remains are located.
Criminal proceedings should therefore be coordinated with the work of the National Commission for Missing Persons and with bodies responsible for protecting mass graves, archives, security files, and medical records. The use of evidence in court should not result in necessary information being withheld from families for unjustified periods.
Truth is an individual right of victims, but it is also a collective right of Syrian society. Establishing an accurate record helps identify patterns of abuse, counters denial, and supports guarantees of non-recurrence.
Reparation Means More Than Financial Compensation
A trial may end with a conviction, but punishment alone cannot restore a victim’s health, home, livelihood, or lost years.
Internationally recognised forms of reparation include:
- Restitution of rights and property wherever possible.
- Compensation for material, physical, and psychological harm.
- Medical care, psychological support, and rehabilitation.
- Official acknowledgement of violations and, where appropriate, an apology.
- Restoration of legal status and removal of the consequences of arbitrary decisions.
- Memorialisation and preservation of victims’ memory.
- Institutional reform and guarantees of non-recurrence.
The assets of an individual offender may be insufficient to compensate everyone harmed. Syria therefore needs a national reparations programme and a publicly funded mechanism operating under transparent criteria, so that access to redress does not depend entirely on a final judgment in an individual criminal case.
A Unified National Register of Victims
In February 2026, the National Commission for Transitional Justice discussed establishing a national register of victims based on the needs of survivors and victims’ families. Such a register could be an important step if accompanied by strict safeguards for personal data.
The register must not become an exposed database or an unreasonable barrier to official recognition. Legislation should define who may access the data, the purposes for which it may be used, retention periods, procedures for correcting errors, rules governing disclosure to judicial bodies, and penalties for unlawful use or leaks.
People who lost their documents or now live outside Syria must not be excluded. Many victims fled without official papers and may be unable to return in person to register their claims.
What Do Syrian Courts Need in Practice?
Turning victims’ rights from general principles into everyday practice requires concrete institutional measures, including:
- Establishing a specialised victims’ affairs unit within the competent courts.
- Creating a secure system to notify victims of hearings and decisions.
- Providing access to qualified lawyers and free legal assistance.
- Allowing Syrians abroad to submit applications, information, and testimony.
- Adopting specialised protocols for children, survivors of sexual violence, and persons with disabilities.
- Establishing an independent witness and victim protection programme.
- Issuing reasoned judgments that clearly explain the evidence, legal classification, and available reparations.
- Coordinating evidence preservation with the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria.
- Creating a national reparations fund.
- Publishing periodic information about proceedings without disclosing sensitive data.
The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism has emphasised that inclusive justice requires accountability processes to reflect the experiences and needs of victims and survivors, including groups that are often less visible, such as children, women, and persons with disabilities.
Victims’ Rights and Defendants’ Rights Are Not Opposites
It may sometimes appear that protecting the rights of the accused diminishes justice for victims. In reality, a trial that disregards the presumption of innocence, the right to defence, or the testing of evidence will be vulnerable to reversal and legitimate criticism. It may ultimately harm victims again rather than provide durable justice.
Victims benefit from an independent judiciary and a fair trial just as defendants do. A judgment based on reliable evidence and lawful procedure is more likely to withstand appeal, legal scrutiny, and historical examination.
Prejudging guilt should not be presented as solidarity with victims. Genuine solidarity means building professional cases that establish individual criminal responsibility, avoid collective punishment, protect innocent people, and prevent the courts from becoming instruments of political revenge.
Conclusion
The trials of former regime figures can open a path toward genuine justice, but they will fall short if victims remain outside the courtroom or their role is reduced to giving testimony.
Victims must move from the position of silent recipients to that of rights-holders: entitled to information, participation, protection, truth, compensation, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-recurrence.
When a court protects the dignity of victims while fully respecting the rights of the accused, it does more than decide a criminal case. It lays a foundation for a new state governed by law—one in which justice is not a privilege of power and revenge is not a substitute for accountability.
Legal note: Proceedings involving former regime officials may still be pending before the courts. All allegations must be proved according to law, and every accused person is presumed innocent until a final judgment is issued.
