{"id":2535,"date":"2025-11-18T16:14:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T16:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2535"},"modified":"2025-11-18T16:14:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T16:14:03","slug":"syria-launches-first-trial-over-coastal-violence-that-killed-thousands-courts-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2535","title":{"rendered":"Syria launches first trial over coastal violence that killed thousands | Courts News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The attacks in March killed thousands, many from the Alawite religious minority.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 18 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">18 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Syria has launched the trial of the first of hundreds of suspects for their role in deadly clashes earlier this year that killed hundreds in the country\u2019s coastal provinces.<\/p>\n<p>Syrian state media reported on Tuesday that 14 people were brought before Aleppo\u2019s Palace of Justice following a months-long, government-led investigation.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Hundreds of people from the Alawite religious minority, to which ousted President Bashar al-Assad belonged, were killed in the massacres in March.<\/p>\n<p>The violence erupted after attacks on the new government\u2019s security forces by armed groups aligned with the deposed autocrat. Counterattacks soon spiralled out of control to target civilians in the coastal regions that host the Alawite population.<\/p>\n<p>Seven of the defendants in the court on Tuesday were al-Assad loyalists, while the other seven were members of the new government\u2019s security forces.<\/p>\n<p>Charges against the suspects could include sedition, inciting civil war, attacking security forces, murder, looting and leading armed gangs, according to state media.<\/p>\n<p>The seven accused from government forces are being prosecuted for \u201cpremeditated murder\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The public and the international community have put pressure on the country\u2019s new rulers to commit to judicial reform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe court is sovereign and independent,\u201d said Judge Zakaria Bakkar as the trial opened.<\/p>\n<p>The proceedings are important for President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of forces that formerly had links to al-Qaeda, who since coming to power in December has scrambled to step out from diplomatic isolation. He is working to convince the United States to drop more of its crippling sanctions against Syria and to boost trade to rebuild the war-torn country.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite initial reports by the state media that charges could quickly be brought against the defendants, the judge adjourned the session and rescheduled the next hearing for December.<\/p>\n<p>The National Commission of Inquiry said in July that it had verified serious violations leading to the deaths of at least 1,426 people, most of them civilians, and identified 298 suspects.<\/p>\n<p>It claimed 238 members of the security forces and army had been killed in attacks attributed to al-Assad\u2019s supporters. The authorities then sent reinforcements to the region, with the commission estimating their number at 200,000 fighters.<\/p>\n<p>The commission said there was no evidence that Syria\u2019s new military leaders had ordered attacks on the Alawite community.<\/p>\n<p>A United Nations probe, however, found that violence targeting civilians by government-aligned factions had been \u201cwidespread and systematic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A UN commission said that during the violence, homes in Alawite-majority areas were raided and civilians were asked \u201cwhether they were Sunni or Alawite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It said: \u201dAlawite men and boys were then taken away to be executed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The attacks in March killed thousands, many from the Alawite religious minority. Published On 18 Nov 202518 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Syria has launched the trial of the first of hundreds of suspects for their role in deadly clashes earlier this year that killed hundreds in the country\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}