The Attorney General of the Republic, Hassan al-Turba, confirmed on Monday, June 15, that the transitional justice process in the country is proceeding naturally and in accordance with Syrian law, relying on an integrated system (legal, human rights and political) rather than on a single means.

In a television interview, al-Turba explained that the Ministry of Justice is working in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, the National Authority for Transitional Justice and the National Commission for Missing Persons to pursue the perpetrators of violations against the Syrian people, pointing out that precautionary measures are being taken to prevent the escape of suspects, including the issuance of arrest warrants in absentia and ensuring the protection of witnesses.

"We hope that all our people in Syria will exercise restraint and resort to judicial institutions instead of revenge or revenge, because the issue of revenge and revenge does not build a state," he said, adding, "We appreciate the affection of the Syrian people who have endured for many years under the oppression of the regime."

The Attorney General stressed that Syria applies the Code of Criminal Procedure issued in 1950, which is a precise legal process that starts with police control from the Ministry of Interior, then the Public Prosecution and the investigative judge, and ends with the referral judge as a gateway to the criminal court, stressing that this long path represents a constitutional guarantee for fair trials based on correct foundations, and it is the same one that was followed in prominent cases such as the case of Atef Naguib.

Al-Turba pointed out that the crimes committed over the past 14 years amount to war crimes and against humanity, and need sufficient time for investigation, stressing at the same time that the Ministry of Justice has dismissed all judges who participated in the terrorism court, or were assigned to the People's Assembly on the day of liberation, or were proven to be a help to the old regime in suppressing the revolution.

Transitional Justice Commission: Collective Punishment Unacceptable

For its part, the National Commission for Transitional Justice confirmed in a statement on its official Telegram channel on Monday that the path of justice is based on individual responsibility and legal accountability, strongly condemning any practices based on revenge, revenge, or the fulfillment of the right outside the framework of the law.

The Commission stressed that collective punishment is contrary to human rights principles and leads to the production of new grievances rather than addressing them, considering that the right of victims and their families to reveal the truth and accountability is a legitimate right that cannot be overridden.

Those involved outside the country under the microscope

With regard to the file of those involved fleeing the country, the Attorney General and the Interior Spokesperson pointed out that there is high coordination and periodic meetings held in Damascus, France, Geneva, and the European Union countries with the "Independent International Mechanism" and the "International Commission of Inquiry" to exchange evidence, issue arrest warrants in absentia, prosecute fugitives through the international Interpol and diplomatic methods to bring them to the Syrian judiciary.

As for the file of reparations, the judiciary clarified that the punishment represents moral reparation, while material reparation is the financial compensation that the criminal judge rules based on the personal claim, in parallel with complementary paths carried out by other institutions to rebuild destroyed villages and houses and commemorate the martyrs.

Dismantling a terrorist cell

On the field security front, the spokesman of the Syrian Ministry of Interior, Noureddine al-Baba, revealed in a press conference held today in Damascus that the Counter-Terrorism Department was able to dismantle a terrorist security cell linked to the former regime's apparatuses in the liberated areas.

Investigations revealed the involvement of the detainees: Fadi Maarouf (Abu Jahl) and Issa Ghannam, in transferring and sending the coordinates of the Jabal al-Duwaila camp in Kafr Takharim in late October 2020 to Brigadier General Abdel Rahman Najm (head of the dissolved State Security Branch during the era of the former regime), which resulted in the death of more than 100 martyrs and wounded members of the "Faylaq al-Sham" faction.

The Pope also announced the arrest of Major General Ahmed Hijazi (head of the information branch of the dissolved State Security Branch), in addition to the arrest of 12 officers from doctors working in military hospitals affiliated with the former regime who were involved in violations against detainees.

In the context of his review of the work of the Counter-Terrorism Department at the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry Spokesperson revealed that the Department is currently detaining 5,989 detainees belonging to various military ranks of the former regime.

This narrative tally is distributed as follows: one person with the rank of brigadier, 42 with the rank of major, 172 with the rank of brigadier general, 218 with the rank of colonel, 112 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, 73 with the rank of major, 160 with the rank of captain, 126 with the rank of first lieutenant, and 32 with the rank of lieutenant.

At the level of officers and personnel, the list includes 435 first assistants, 268 assistants, 174 first sergeants, 285 sergeants, 160 corporal corporals, and 1483 personnel.

The arrests also included six members of the former so-called "National Defense", one member of the People's Assembly, one judge involved in adopting unfair sentences against political detainees, 12 leaders of former militias and popular committees, in addition to one investigator affiliated with those committees.