For many Syrians, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government did not end the cases against them. Activists and politicians are still discovering convictions issued in their absence and criminal wanted notices that remain in force, despite government measures to end security prosecutions of opponents.
Syria’s People’s Assembly has taken a leading role in transitional justice, repealing exceptional laws, including the law establishing the terrorism court.
But criminal cases brought during the conflict remain unresolved. Some Syrians returning by land or air discover the problem only when they reach the border.
Successive decisions and decrees have sought to dismantle the former government’s legacy. Yet thousands still face legal complications. Rights advocates say implementation has lagged behind legislative change, leaving people caught between promises of justice and institutional bureaucracy.
In March 2025, the Interior Ministry canceled travel-ban notices covering requests for arrest, notification or reporting, as well as failure to perform compulsory or reserve military service.
It said more than eight million people, roughly a third of Syrians, had been wanted by the former government’s intelligence and security agencies.
Last December, Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais announced the abolition of exceptional courts and their rulings, in line with the repeal of Law No. 22 of 2012, which established the Court of Terrorism Cases. The judges who ran the court were removed.
The measure covered political cases, cases involving expressions of opinion and malicious charges. It excluded serious felonies involving personal rights, such as causing a person’s death, and organized crimes such as drug trafficking.
Those cases were referred to the regular military judiciary for consideration under fair legal procedures, leaving criminal prosecutions in place.
Repeal does not erase charges
People’s Assembly member Aqil Hussein says the assembly must legislate to repeal the terrorism and military courts and the “exceptional” security decisions and decrees issued against Syrians during the uprising. That must include canceling all resulting decisions and rulings, he said.
The measure does not cover criminal convictions, which the relevant institutions must resolve, Hussein said. But it could speed up that work and end the suffering of those affected. Agencies are working together on a mechanism to process cases faster and respond directly, he added.
Security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the former government used criminal charges, among other means, to pressure Syrians. It focused on terrorism allegations because of their international sensitivity, they said.
A large share of those allegations has been resolved, the sources said. Criminal charges and cases involving personal claims are harder to untangle because of technical complications and the number of agencies involved.
The sources acknowledged delays caused by the volume of cases and their links to complex civil matters. Claims brought by individuals can create further difficulties.
They said people affected by exceptional problems, such as a wanted notice that remains active after a case has been closed, or a lost case file, can approach the relevant offices in Damascus.
Records that outlast the cases
For many people still listed as wanted, settling their legal status means navigating a long bureaucratic process that restricts their freedom and civil rights.
Some said they learned that individuals had filed criminal complaints against them while they were abroad. Others said they could find no complainant.
Some returnees discovered arrest orders on criminal charges, only to learn from judicial offices that their case documents had been lost or damaged while the proceedings remained active.
People caught in this process cited poor links between databases and limited experience among new staff. Some said judicial offices and criminal investigation branches in Damascus had removed their records, but arrest warrants sent to border crossings were still in force.
Rights sources said political and security decisions had not been fully reconciled with prosecutors’ and courts’ records. Criminal entries are not removed automatically.
Canceling a wanted notice or overturning a conviction issued in a person’s absence requires a lengthy legal process, starting with a request to withdraw the notice and a visit to the judicial authority that issued it.
A proposed solution
“The new authorities have taken important steps in this direction, but they are still insufficient. The continued suffering of those affected shows the problem has not been resolved,” lawyer and rights activist Michel Shammas told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Issuing a general decision is one thing; carrying it through to every database, agency and case file is another, Shammas said. The former government created the files, but the new state inherited its institutions and records and must review and correct them.
Repealing the terrorism court and ending the exceptional laws used against opponents are necessary steps, he said. Neither automatically erases the effects of thousands of rulings, warrants and records issued by the court or other agencies.
Shammas proposed an independent judicial committee and a unified database to separate genuine criminal cases from political and security cases.
Political entries could then be removed collectively, he said, while an official service would let people check their legal status without an intermediary.
