Syria: Start of Coastal Events Trials and Stalled Investigation into the Sweida Events

Jumaa Al-Anzi, head of the National Committee for Investigation and Fact-Finding in the Syrian Coast events, announced the start of public trial sessions for the defendants in the coastal events that took place on March 6, 2025, on Monday, November 17, with the sessions opened to local and international media.

Al-Anzi said that these sessions represent an important step toward transparency and strengthening trust in the judiciary, stressing the complexity and scale of the case. The committee conducted 10 field visits to Baniyas, listened to more than 300 testimonies, in addition to 95 testimonies in the city of Latakia, inspected 9 sites, and collected statements from security, military, and civilian entities.

Despite the announcement of the start of the sessions, local sources reported that the trials did not begin on the scheduled day, with expectations that the Aleppo city trial sessions will begin at the Palace of Justice in the city on Tuesday, November 18.

In contrast, the investigation into the Sweida events appears to be stalled, after the committee in charge announced that it has not yet been able to enter the city, four months after the bloody clashes between local Druze elements and Bedouin gunmen that began on July 13, during which government forces intervened.

Hatem Al-Naasan, head of the investigation committee, indicated that the committee listened to 800 testimonies and issued arrest warrants for army and security personnel proven to be involved in violations, with the cases referred to the competent judiciary. However, he clarified that the committee has not yet been able to enter the city and has requested a two-month extension of its mandate.

Al-Naasan confirmed that the foreign fighters who participated in the events “were not proven to have received official orders to fight within the ranks of the Transitional Syrian Army, and they joined Sweida individually or randomly.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported an escalation in tensions in Sweida since the beginning of this week, with intermittent clashes in which drones, heavy machine guns, and shells were used, in addition to sniper operations and the targeting of vehicles on the main road between Sweida and Damascus.