Vue lecture

Syrians Want Justice for Assad-Era Killings and Torture

Hundreds of thousands were killed and tortured. But prosecuting everyone involved in atrocities could be impractical and risk renewed civil strife.

© Emile Ducke for The New York Times

In the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus, residents hoped the new government would collect the bones and exhume the bodies buried in mass graves underfoot.
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Syria Sentences Former President al-Assad to Death for Crimes Against Humanity

The former president was convicted of crimes against humanity during the country’s civil war, the first verdict since he fled to Russia in 2024.

© Louai Beshara/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

President Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s former leader, in Damascus in 2023.
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