“The verdict marks a major break with Syria’s longstanding culture of impunity, by bringing former senior regime figures before a domestic court and recognizing victims’ right to participate in justice,” said Fadel Abdul Ghany, director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, which documents war crimes and human rights violations.
But Mr. Abdul Ghany cautioned that Syria lacked a comprehensive legal framework and an independent court to try transitional justice cases.
The strength of the verdicts would depend on whether the court has established each defendant’s individual criminal responsibility, he said, and whether it had offered clear evidence linking particular crimes committed in Daraa with each defendant.
Source:
The New York Times
