A Syrian court began judicial proceedings this Wednesday against Uasim al Assad, cousin of the overthrown president of Syria, Bashar al Assad, following his arrest in June 2025 during an operation carried out near the border with Lebanon.
According to data released by the state agency SANA, the accused faces charges for "numerous crimes against the Syrian people," including the creation of militias involved in crimes against the civilian population.
The initial hearing of the trial against Al Assad was held at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, where the former president's relative was presented before the judge to also answer to accusations of torture, kidnapping, and drug trafficking.
The spokesman for the Syrian Ministry of Interior, Nurredín al Baba, stated after his capture in a "precise security operation" that the new authorities have documentary evidence of his activities and advanced that ongoing investigations could lead to new charges.
Authorities believe that Al Assad's cousin is linked to "irregular armed groups" led by Guiaz Dala, a commander of an Army unit that answered to Maher al Assad, brother of the former president and identified as one of the pillars of Damascus' repressive apparatus.
This procedure is part of the transitional justice mechanisms put in place after the fall of Al Assad, who left the country for Russia in early December 2024, fleeing an offensive by jihadists and rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), whose leader, Ahmed al Shara, currently holds the country's presidency.
In May 2025, the Syrian Presidency also announced the creation of two commissions aimed at promoting reparations and the search for missing persons and at prosecuting crimes committed during the Al Assad regime, in a context of criticism for its restricted mandate, which excludes abuses perpetrated by opposition groups to the former president, including jihadists, and limits the options for full accountability and adequate compensation for victims.