In Absentia Arrest Warrant Issued for Bashar al-Assad Over 2011 Daraa Events

The Seventh Investigative Judge in Damascus, Tawfiq Al-Ali, has issued an in-absentia arrest warrant against former President Bashar al-Assad in connection with the events that took place in Daraa on November 23, 2011, according to the Syrian state news agency, SANA.

Judge Al-Ali stated that the warrant includes charges of premeditated murder, torture leading to death, and unlawful deprivation of liberty. He noted that the judicial decision allows for the warrant to be circulated via Interpol and for the case to be pursued at the international level. The action follows a legal complaint filed by the families of victims of the Daraa events, with the judge affirming that “legal proceedings will continue to prosecute those responsible for crimes associated with the former regime.”

The 2011 Daraa Events

The Daraa events in 2011 were the spark that ignited the Syrian revolution against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In March of that year, children in the city of Daraa wrote anti-regime slogans on their school walls, prompting their arrest and torture by security forces. This triggered public outrage and led to peaceful protests demanding the release of the detainees and political reforms.

The regime responded with brutal repression. Security forces and the military used excessive force to disperse demonstrators, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. The crackdown caused the protests to spread across various Syrian cities, with demands escalating from reform to the overthrow of the regime—marking the beginning of a popular uprising that later evolved into an armed conflict and a full-scale civil war, with profound political and humanitarian consequences for the country.

Assad’s Escape

On December 8, 2024, Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed unexpectedly following the sudden disintegration of the Syrian army and its withdrawal from key military positions, forcing Assad to flee to Russia. In a dramatic scene broadcast on Syrian state television, the opposition announced full control over Damascus, thus bringing an end to more than five decades of Assad family rule.