BBCNew Syrian authorities promise justice for crimes under the Assad regime. But it is a long process, as many have lost any form in the civil war. Sebastian Usher met people in Damascus who see justice as key to how they see Syria's future.
On the outskirts of Douma, one of the most war-ravaged areas of Damascus, in a covered living room next to the stove, Umm Mazen recounts her 12 years of desperately searching for the stories of her two sons, who were arrested in their early years. of rebellion and civil war, and was swallowed up in the Assad-era security system.
For his eldest son, Mazen, he finally received a death certificate, but for Abu Hadi, no trace of him has been revealed.
His third son, Ahmed, spent three years in the security system, including eight months in the red zone for political prisoners in the notorious Saydnaya prison.
His front teeth hammered by the torturer's hammer, he remembers a moment when he believed he heard his brother Mazen's voice answering the roll call from the same prison, but nothing.
What kind of justice does Umm Mazen want for the destruction of her family?
“There should be divine justice, which comes from God,” he said.
“I saw local men coming with a shabiha (a supporter of the armed regime) to be killed.
“I said to them: 'Don't kill him. Instead, torture him the way he tortures our young men'.
“My two children are dead – or maybe they are, but there are thousands of other young men who were abused.
“I pray to God that Bashar [al-Assad] he lives in an underground hole and Russia, who was protecting him, cannot help him.
“I pray to God to put him in the dungeon and be forgotten – just like he left our young men in his prisons.”
Lawyer Hussein Issa called for justice for dozens of people accused of political crimes under the Assads.
He faced constant pressure from the authorities regarding his advocacy, but he persisted and managed to save some of his clients from being pressured under the wheels of the security system.
But for those who were tried in special terrorism courts, there was often nothing that could be done.
The terror law loomed even darker over Syria as the civil war continued.
Now, with a mountain on the outskirts of Damascus peeking out the window of his dirty, smoke-filled office, the 54-year-old lawyer says he believes many of the judges who supported the Assad regime should be fired again. legal action has been taken.
But others from that time, he says, can still have a role in the new judges.
Regarding the major challenge of trying to bring justice back from the horrors of the past 50 years, Mr Issa says that establishing a justice system capable of doing this is the most important task of the new Syrian authorities.
“If this program is not good, the future of the new regime will be bleak.
“We don't know how bad it could be at that point.
“If we have a strong system and government, we will not be afraid of these things.
“If we don't have them, we will be afraid. However, being an optimist by nature, I think the new regime will be better.”
A memorial building in the Syrian capital that houses the justice minister has been erected a few weeks after the fall of Assad.
Now, groups of lawyers have gathered in the lofts and corridors ahead of the reopening of the civil and criminal courts.
In his office on the fifth floor, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Khitam Haddad, says that criminal and civil cases will be discussed again, but the task of dealing with crimes committed under the previous regime will not be handled at this time. .
With his large heavy desk covered with official documents, he says he has been working as a judge since 2013.
He was appointed deputy minister of justice in 2023. For now he is still standing.
“I felt a personal responsibility to this story,” he says.
“It is important for the work to continue, for the judges to return to their work and the courts to return, because as a Syrian I want my work to continue and I want this victory to continue, so that people do not have anything.” be afraid.
“I want to send real and real messages of affirmation, not just talk.”
But some lawyers are still worried about the move by the transitional authorities to establish a council to manage the lawyers' association without voting for it.
In the petition, they said such an approach would substitute one form of authorization for another.
For now, the laws and judicial structure of the Assad era are still in place, including the terrorism law.
It may take a long time before the cases of those accused of crimes under the regime are dismissed.
The new authorities have told Syrians not to take matters into their own hands, as videos have surfaced showing the brutal justice meted out to some former officials.
There have been raids and arrests – and some of those who crossed the border into Lebanon or Iraq have been returned.
But there is still a big question about whether the justice system – which has long been a tool of oppression – can be restructured to deal with this huge ethical and organizational challenge.
High on a mountain above Damascus, Syrians, young and old, are still breathing freely – intoxicated by the cold, crisp winter air – in an area they were barred from by the military for more than a decade.
In the cafes and bars that have sprung up in the weeks since Assad's overthrow, they gaze at the city spread before them – with its dark memories and the promise of a different future, where justice and accountability might be allowed. role playing.
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