Overview
- In Damascus on Sunday, judges opened the first public case with Atef Najib in custody and they named Bashar and Maher al-Assad as defendants in absentia.
- The session handled paperwork only and the judge set a follow-up hearing for May 10.
- Police announced Friday that they had arrested Amjad Yousef, the main suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre in Damascus.
- Families from Daraa packed the courthouse and treated the opening as a long‑awaited step toward accountability.
- Observers warn the courts must prove fairness and protect witnesses as Syria still has the death penalty and lacks clear war-crimes and crimes-against-humanity laws.