World
Can toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad be brought to justice?
Despite the legal and political barriers to prosecution, human rights experts are optimistic that al-Assad and regime officials could one day be held accountable for their crimes in a court of law.
In Syria, celebrations of the fall of Bashar al-Assad have been mingled with a sense of horror, as gruesome evidence of the atrocities committed by his regime emerge.
Mass graveyards and the infamous prisons that were central to the deposed dictator’s coercive rule have been uncovered.
They bear traces of the brutal suffering inflicted by the regime.
Chaotic scenes of former detainees, their relatives and journalists trawling through paperwork in the detention centres have sparked international pleas on Syria’s new de facto leaders to ensure evidence is preserved for future criminal prosecutions.
Al-Assad and his father, Hafez, have been accused of a litany of crimes and abuses over the past 54 years, including torture, rape, mass executions, enforced disappearances and chemical attacks.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) estimates that at least 15,000 Syrians have been tortured to death since the civil war broke out in 2011.
But with al-Assad in exile in Russia and many of his entourage suspected to be in Iran, there are several legal and political obstacles that stand in the way of criminal accountability.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) is the most obvious international court of law for prosecuting individuals for such serious crimes. But the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Syria as the country is not a state party to the court’s treaty, the Treaty of Rome.
The UN Security Council can in principle refer a case to the ICC, granting it jurisdiction. But that would certainly be vetoed by the Kremlin, given its alliance with al-Assad and its own complicity in the crimes.
Both Russia and China blocked such a referral ten years ago.
Speaking to Euronews, Balkees Jarrah, associate director for international justice at Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Syria’s new de facto authorities to consider granting jurisdiction to the ICC: “We believe Syria’s new leadership should immediately make clear its commitment to justice and accountability,” she said.
“This includes ratifying the Rome Treaty and giving the International Criminal Court retroactive jurisdiction so that the prosecutor can examine crimes committed over the last years.”
All eyes on de facto Syrian leaders
A more viable option in the current political climate is for trials to be held in criminal courts both within and outside Syria.
Experts say it’s too soon to tell whether the new de facto rulers will be able to ensure any Syrian criminal proceedings are carried out safely and in line with international standards.
“We don’t know what the future state of Syria will look like, how the different institutions will work and how well they will cooperate with each other. So this is just something we cannot predict,” according to Elisabeth Hoffberger-Pippan of the Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF).
ADVERTISEMENT“The ideal option is to have criminal proceedings in Syria itself that meet fair trial standards, without use of the death penalty. And there is a need to ensure the safety for witnesses and victims to come forward with testimonies,” Vito Todeschini, legal advisor for Amnesty International, told Euronews.
The main rebel group in the new administration is the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), designated a terrorist group by the UN Security Council and formerly linked to al-Qaeda.
Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolan, has vowed to “pursue” the regime’s henchmen in Syria and has called on countries to “hand over those who fled” so that justice can be served.
The rebel fighters have also spoken of an amnesty for all military personnel conscripted into service under al-Assad.
ADVERTISEMENTBut it is currently inconceivable for al-Assad himself to be extradited to stand trial in either a Syrian or non-Syrian court, as there is no political appetite or motive for Moscow to hand him over. Iran is also unlikely to extradite regime officials who have fled there.
Yet, experts consulted by Euronews have expressed hope that al-Assad and the regime’s high-level torturers can one day be held accountable, if the geopolitical conditions change.
“If the sudden fall of the al-Assad regime has shown us anything it is that things can change quite rapidly,” Human Rights Watch’s Jarrah said. “We can’t predict what happens in the future nor preclude the possibility of Assad answering for his crimes one day in a court of law.”
“What we also need to consider right now is how intense and how strong the bond is between Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad,” Hoffberger-Pippan of PRIF said. “I do think that there is a chance Russia might not be as interested in al-Assad in the future because the geopolitical environment is changing in a way that makes it less important for Russia to protect him.”
ADVERTISEMENTCalls for international collaboration and preservation of evidence
Universal jurisdiction also allows non-Syrian courts to prosecute Syrians for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture.
Criminal cases against regime officials have already been filed in Austrian, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish and US courts, many of which have already successfully pressed charges.
The first international trial on torture in Syria was heard before the Koblenz Higher Regional Court in Germany in 2020. Two former high-level officials of the al-Assad regime were charged, one of whom was found guilty of crimes against humanity and handed a life-long sentence.
In November 2023, a French court issued international arrest warrants for Bashar al-Assad, his brother and two officials over an attack against civilians using chemical weapons in 2013.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), universal jurisdiction carries promise but should be a “fall-back option” if processes within Syria fail.
The push towards justice should be “Syrian-led”, it says.
For any trials, well-preserved evidence is crucial.
During the decades-long regime, offenses were documented by international organisations and Syrian civil society with the help of whistleblowers. The so-called ‘Caesar’ photos, taken by a Syrian military police officer who defected a decade ago, are perhaps the most well-known evidence of torture which has led to criminal proceedings in European courts.
ADVERTISEMENTThe UN’s International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) has a mandate to collect, preserve and analyse evidence to be used in criminal proceedings and supports Syrian civil society in judicial processes.
Its lead investigator Robert Petit has described “papers strewn all over the floor, people leaving with computers, hard drives burned and smashed” in regime centres during the rebels’ offensive.
“Those in control of these prisons need to safeguard materials in these facilities so that the truth can be told and so that those responsible are held accountable,” HRW’s Jarrah explained.
Euronews reached out to the UN to ask whether its investigators have yet been authorised by Syria’s de facto leaders to gain access to the ground, but has not yet received a reply.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the ECHHR, there is also real risk that evidence can be confiscated “to be used as political or commercial capital” or be compromised by secret services agents from countries “interested in destroying evidence and archives.”
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By David E. Sanger, Coleman Lowndes, Nikolay Nikolov, Edward Vega and June Kim
January 14, 2026
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JOHANNESBURG: A staggering and growing wave of persecution against Christians across sub-Saharan Africa has been laid bare in the latest Open Doors’ World Watch List for 2025. The report says three out of four Christians murdered worldwide are killed in Nigeria.
Fourteen of the top 50 countries worldwide where verified deaths could be reasonably linked to victims’ Christian faith are in sub-Saharan Africa. Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.
The organization states that one in seven Christians in the world face high levels of persecution. But that figure rises to one in five in Africa.
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Woman in Benue State Christian refugee camp. The camp is inhabited by Christians who fled anti-Christian violence. (Open Doors)
Nigeria
Africa’s most populous nation is also ranked as the seventh worst in the world for persecution in all its forms. According to Open Doors, out of the 4,849 Christians killed for their faith globally in the year up to the end of Sept. 2025, 3,490 of these were murdered in Nigeria — 72% of the total.
Muslims have also been killed in Nigeria. But the latest data from the report shows Christians have been “disproportionately targeted.” These are four of the affected states — there are others:
In Benue State in north-central Nigeria, 1,310 Christians were killed compared with 29 Muslims.
In Plateau State in north-central Nigeria, 546 Christians were killed compared with 48 Muslims.
In Taraba State in northeast Nigeria, 73 Christians were killed compared with 12 Muslims.
In north-western Kaduna State, 1,116 Christians were abducted in 2025, compared with 101 Muslims.
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Funerals for some 27 Christians who were reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in the village of Bindi Ta-hoss, Nigeria on July, 28, 2025 (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International (CSI))
“The latest figures should leave us in no doubt: there is a clear religious element to this horrific violence,” Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors U.K. told Fox News Digital.
Blyth added, “For many thousands of Christians, this will come as no surprise. Those who witnessed their families being killed, and their homes razed to the ground by Islamist Fulani militants report being told by their attackers that ‘we will destroy all Christians.’”
“It’s surely time to dismiss the idea that this violence is somehow ‘random,’” Blyth stated. “If we don’t recognize the clear religious element to the violence, it won’t be possible to properly address this tragic situation.”
Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s minister of information and national orientation, told Fox News Digital this week, “The loss of life in any form is unacceptable, and the Nigerian government recognizes the pain felt by all affected families and communities.”
Pope Leo XIV condemned the killings of up to 200 people in Yelewata community in Nigeria. (Associated Press)
The minister continued, “Nigeria has consistently maintained that its security challenges stem from a convergence of criminal insurgency, armed banditry, resource competition, and localized communal disputes, not from state-directed or institutional religious persecution. The government remains focused on upholding its constitutional duty to protect all citizens and on advancing security reforms that improve coordination, accountability, and civilian safety nationwide.”
At the time of writing, the new World Watch List had not been released to the minister, but he did share his thoughts on Middle Belt killings, “With respect to the Middle Belt states, the Nigerian government has long stated that violence in this region is primarily driven by long-standing disputes over land and resources, organized banditry, and criminal networks that prey on vulnerable communities, Christian and Muslim alike.”
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He concluded, “while some attacks tragically take on communal or identity dimensions, framing the Middle Belt crisis as a systematic campaign against Christians does not reflect the full security reality on the ground and risks obscuring the role of criminal actors who exploit instability for profit and power.”
The Evangelical church in Omdurman, Sudan after being bombed even though it was not in a combat zone or used by any warring forces. (Open Doors)
Sudan
Some 150,000 are estimated to have died in the civil war that has engulfed this nation since 2023. Open Doors reports, “the situation for the nation’s 2 million Christians is especially grim.”
“We are considered as the enemy by both (opposing) factions, who accuse us of being allied with the other side,” Rafat Samir, general secretary for the Sudan Evangelical Alliance, told Fox News Digital. We are told ‘you don’t belong here’ and driven from our homes. To make matters worse, Christians are often excluded when aid is distributed.” A particular pattern can be seen across sub-Saharan Africa, Open Doors states. The report claims, “Islamist militants enter the vacuums in law and order left by a weak junta and civil conflicts. It means they can operate with impunity across parts of Burkina Faso, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, Niger and Mozambique. Their stated aim is to create ‘Sharia states’ operating under their deadly interpretation of Islamic law.”
Church leaders of the Pentecostal Church in the northeast of Khartoum, stood by as their church building was demolished. The demolition was done under the premise that any building not complying with regulations would be destroyed in July 2025 in Sudan. (Open Doors.)
Elsewhere in the world, North Korea remains top of the list for having the world’s worst persecution of Christians, with Open Doors stating, “If Christians are discovered, they and their families are deported to labor camps or executed.”
A huge spike in reported violence against Christians in Syria has followed the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s presidency in Dec. 2024, and has led the country to jump to number six on the list. China is number 17, with churches driven underground by surveillance and heavy regulation.
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Civil Defence worker inspects the damage inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweil’a in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (SANA via AP)
The reporting period for the World Watch List ended some two months before President Trump ordered U.S. forces to bomb Muslim militants in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day to try to stop the killing of Christians.
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Jo Newhouse from Open Doors sub-Saharan Africa, told Fox News Digital, “The U.S. airstrikes (against Jihadi groups in Nigeria) have thrown many of the militant groups in the area into a state of panic. They have been scattering and attacking civilians as they come across soft targets, hoping that they can rebuild their resources through looting and kidnapping.”
“Many Christians across the northern states are in a state of flux, unable to find any safety or stability. They bear the scars of living under the perpetual risk of death, destruction and displacement,” Newhouse said.
Published on
The European Parliament is set to hold a debate about the allocation of public defence funds to Hungary over fears that the money may be misused by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who faces a difficult election in April.
The money in question is part of the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, a €150 billion loan scheme that enables member states to finance the purchase of defence equipment.
This is a part of the plan to boost Europe’s defences in the light of both Russian threats and the uncertainty of support from the United States.
Hungary has requested €17.4 billion in SAFE funds to boost its army. This would be the third biggest SAFE allocation among the member states, even though most of the EU’s regular payments to Hungary are suspended because of rule of law deficiencies and corruption risks.
The Greens in the European Parliament initiated the debate, which has gained the support of mainstream political parties.
“I’m really frustrated that the European Commission chose Hungary as the third largest beneficiary of this whole SAFE programme, which means that Hungary will get €16 billion for its defence industry without any human rights rule of law conditionality,” Greens-EFA MEP Tineke Strik told Euronews.
The debate will take place next Tuesday at the plenary session in Strasbourg, and will not be followed by a resolution.
Treading carefully
MEPs critical of Orbán argue that the EU should impose robust safeguards before transferring the SAFE funds to his government.
The EU has already suspended €17 billion out of €27 billion previously earmarked for Hungary, with payments made conditional on improvements in justice, rule of law and anti-corruption efforts.
EU budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin told the European Parliament last December that the same conditions might be applied to SAFE funds as well, but the 15% down payment could be allocated without conditions.
On Monday, Euronews reported that the European Commission has postponed most upcoming decisions related to Hungary in order to avoid any perception of interference in the current election campaign. But because boosting defence spending is a strategic goal of the von der Leyen Commission, SAFE is an exception.
If approved by the EU Council, the first of the defence payments could happen during the first quarter of this year, just before Hungary’s crucial parliamentary election on April 12.
“This is a huge present to Orbán, because he will get a big part of it before the elections in Hungary,” Strik said. “And because of the lack of conditions, he can use it for his own campaign and sell it as a sign of the legitimacy of his regime.”
“This is really a toxic present for democracy in Hungary.”
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