One Year On, Syrians Demand a Special Court to Prosecute Assad’s Crimes

• Syrian lawyers and families of the disappeared say the world must end impunity as Assad officials live freely abroad
• Call for a hybrid Syrian court grows amid warnings that without justice, reconciliation and peaceful transition remain impossible

One year after the fall of the Assad regime, Syrian survivors, lawyers, and families of the missing are urging governments, including the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Syria’s interim authorities to back a Syrian-led hybrid special court that could finally hold Assad and his senior officials accountable for war crimes.

Despite the atrocities committed over more than a decade; bombing hospitals and schools, deploying chemical weapons, starving civilians under siege, and disappearing tens of thousands in torture prisons, Assad and his officials continue to live freely in Moscow and other safe havens, benefiting from a global system that has repeatedly failed to deliver justice.

Syrian legal experts and family groups at the heart of the justice movement have driven landmark universal jurisdiction cases across Europe in recent years. Now, they say a special court embedded within the Syrian judicial system, supported by international expertise, is urgent to ensure  accountability, reconciliation, and long-term peace.

Razan Rashidi, Executive Director of The Syria Campaign, said:
“Justice is not symbolic. It is essential to keeping people safe and preventing future crimes. If Assad walks free, every dictator learns the same lesson: you can bomb hospitals, torture children, drop chemical weapons and still escape accountability.

“A Syrian-led special court is our chance to end this cycle, honor the suffering of millions, and prove that international law still means something.”

Many families of Syria’s disappeared say their pain has only deepened as another year passes without truth or justice. Many have spent over a decade searching for loved ones taken by the Assad regime. They warn that without real accountability, Syrians cannot rebuild trust in the institutions that are meant to protect them, heal divisions or begin national reconciliation.

A Syrian-led hybrid tribunal would combine domestic ownership with international legal standards, enabling prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Legal experts say this model, successfully used in Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and Kosovo would enable access to crucial evidence held by international bodies, protect witnesses, ensure independent justice, and allow for coordinated prosecution of senior regime figures across multiple jurisdictions.

Notes to editors

• A series of works by Syrian-Lebanese artist Ranim AlHalaky and Syrian-Polish artist  Kinda Ghannoum are being displayed in Homs, Aleppo, Damascus, London, Berlin, and Amsterdam in support of the campaign. The posters, based on an image of Assad torn from a wall in Homs reimagine his portrait as a pixelated “wanted” poster, symbolizing families reclaiming public space and demanding justice one year after the regime’s fall.
• A petition calling for a Syrian-led hybrid tribunal has already garnered more than 18,000 signatures from around the world.