The issuance of death sentences against Atef Najib, the head of the ousted regime Bashar al-Assad, and a number of defendants in the case involving crimes committed against Syrians marks a new milestone in the process of transitional justice and presents the victims’ families with a broader set of post-trial issues: redress, restoration of rights, and rehabilitation.
With the convicted individuals being required to compensate the private plaintiffs whose claims were accepted, and the ruling preserving the rights of those affected who did not file personal claims as well as the rights of the families of victims and the missing, the announcement of the Reparations Fund has emerged as a step that places this issue at the heart of the next phase and raises questions about the fund’s operating mechanisms, eligibility criteria, sources of funding, and its ability to evolve from a measure tied to a specific case into a national system covering victims of violations throughout Syria.