Syrian court begins proceedings against Assad and allies

“A Syrian court conducted the first hearing Sunday in the trial of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and senior figures from his government, one of whom appeared in person. Assad and his brother Maher have fled Syria and will be tried in absentia, but one of their relatives, former security official Atif Najib, was in the dock in handcuffs. "Today we begin the first trials of transitional justice in Syria," judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan declared as he opened the session.

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