Syrian rights group compiles list of 16,200 Assad regime affiliates accused of crimes against civilians

By Muhammed Yusuf

ISTANBUL (AA) – A UK-based Syrian rights group said Monday that it has compiled a list of around 16,200 members of the ousted Assad regime accused of committing crimes against civilians.

"The ousted Assad regime committed serious violations that affected millions of Syrians," the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said in a statement.

The rights group highlighted its efforts to establish a comprehensive database of atrocities committed under the rule of Bashar Assad, who was overthrown by Syrian anti-regime forces on Dec. 8.

The network divided the perpetrators into two categories: 6,724 individuals from the military and security apparatus and 9,476 members of allied militias.

The group emphasized the importance of focusing legal and judicial efforts on the senior leadership of the military and security services over their responsibility for planning and overseeing crimes against civilians.

The SNHR stressed the need to ensure all victims have the right to file lawsuits against those responsible for their suffering and underscored the broader scope of accountability to include non-military supporters of the regime.

“Among the implicated are actors, writers, and politicians who supported the regime's crimes through various means, including incitement to violence. Their actions should be evaluated under transitional justice frameworks,” it added.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio