Fadel Abdul Ghani, director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the trial was “a positive step in the right direction”.
“This is what we demanded from the first days of the violations committed against civilians on the coast. These trials are a form of accountability,” he said.
“These trials are a real message to victims and their families that the government’s promises to hold perpetrators accountable are finding their way to transparent, public implementation — which is what we, as human rights organisations, want. All conditions for fair trials must be met, and they must include defendants from the security and armed forces as well as remnants of the former regime, equally and with full legal rights.”
