Shaping a new Syria, one verdict at a time
It has been a decade since democratic aspirations swept up young people across the Middle East. The Arab Spring did not last long. Most regimes pushed back hard. Military rule returned to Egypt. Libya descended into chaos. In Syria, at the heart of the region, an ongoing and devastating civil war has left more than 60,000 dead, many by torture or in dire conditions in Syrian jails.
Yet this week, a trial verdict in Germany revived hopes that the ideals embraced by millions in 2011 endure. A court in Koblenz convicted a former Syrian security officer on charges of torture and sentenced him to 4 1/2 years in prison. The man had sought asylum in Germany and was recognized by other Syrians in Berlin. Then Germany, claiming universal jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, put him in the dock.
The verdict marks the first time that any official in the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has been held legally accountable for crimes such as torture. The man, a relatively low-level figure identified as Eyad al-Gharib, was one of two Syrians put on trial in connection with the civil war. Human rights activists know of perhaps a dozen others hiding in Europe under the guise of refugees. The conviction sets the stage for similar trials of former Syrian officials in Germany, Norway, and Austria.
Bolstered by Russia and Iran, Mr. Assad may be on the verge of finally crushing any of his opponents – terrorists, separatists, or democrats – who rose up against him over the past decade. He stands accused of using chemical weapons against his own people. There may be no foreseeable way to hold him accountable within Syria. But the trials in Europe are more than just an exercise in international humanitarian concern. They rest on the persistent efforts of Syrians themselves to uphold ideas of justice and democracy. The evidence brought against Mr. Gharib comes from the meticulous work of collecting evidence by former security officers, journalists, human rights lawyers, the families of victims, and survivors of abuse.
The Arab Spring was not meaningless to them.
The effects of this verdict on Syrians are difficult to see for now. A famed Syrian documentary filmmaker, Feras Fayyad, told Agence France-Presse, “I hope the victims can sleep better tonight.”
Many hope that justice will ultimately be a path to national reconciliation. One of the plaintiffs, Hussein Ghrer, noted this effect on himself: “[This is] the first time in my life that I experienced a fair trial.”
In European courtrooms, Syrians are once again showing that they will not be deterred. The conviction of a prison guard marks a healing moment. For families of the regime’s victims, it may salve their wounds. For the millions displaced and dispersed, it marks a deeper understanding about the purpose of justice in eventually shaping a new Syria that lives up to the ideals of the Arab Spring.
