The Syrian Future Movement followed with great interest and pride the official statements issued by the highest judicial and security authorities in Syria, in which they announced, for the first time since the overthrow of the former regime, the submission of a formal request to Russia for the extradition of the deposed president, Bashar al-Assad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This public escalation in the pursuit of figures from the ousted regime through international justice channels represents a qualitative shift in the approach of the new Syrian state in dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement recalls with great appreciation the simultaneous statements made by Syrian Deputy Interior Minister Major General Abdul Qader al-Tahhan during the May 11, 2026 episode of Al Jazeera’s “The Story Continues” program. In these statements, he revealed that Damascus had initiated procedures through Interpol to pursue a number of officials who had fled the country. He indicated that Bashar al-Assad’s name “will top the list of wanted individuals as he is the one most responsible for the crimes committed against the Syrian people.” Al-Tahhan added that the Syrian state had requested Russia to extradite Bashar al-Assad, but clarified that this request had not yet been fulfilled. This marked the first official and public confirmation of direct attempts to secure Russian cooperation on this matter. These statements represent a shift in the state’s discourse from “managing the conflict” to “building a legal and institutional framework for accountability,” as he described it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement also commends the announcement made by Syrian Attorney General Hassan al-Turba on May 12, 2026, that the judicial authorities had issued arrest warrants in absentia for a number of figures from the former regime, in addition to decisions to freeze assets and prevent the escape of those wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with the “Syria Now” platform (May 13, 2026), Al-Turba emphasized that war crimes and crimes against humanity “do not have a statute of limitations,” are not covered by amnesty decrees, and are not subject to the principle of non-retroactivity of laws. These statements have moved beyond merely issuing symbolic in absentia judgments to include concrete and practical measures aimed at prosecuting perpetrators wherever they may be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement recalls the escalating context of Syrian demands, the first signs of which appeared in October 2025 during President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Moscow, where he “clearly and repeatedly” demanded the extradition of Bashar al-Assad from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. This was followed on January 28, 2026, by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s refusal to comment on reports that Syrian authorities were negotiating with Moscow regarding Assad’s extradition, simply stating, “We do not comment on this matter.” Then, on January 29, 2026, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that the issue of trying Assad “was closed long ago,” and that Moscow had granted him asylum “for purely humanitarian reasons.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, the Syrian Future Movement believes that these demands are not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather the culmination of a diplomatic process that has lasted for more than seven months, culminating in a public escalation in May 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement considers Russia’s continued failure to respond to this demand a violation of international law and its obligations as a member state of the United Nations. It is a blatant breach of the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the Convention against Torture (1984), and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Furthermore, protecting perpetrators and providing them with safe havens poses a new challenge to the entire transitional justice process and normalizes the impunity that independent civil society movements have long opposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Syrian Future Movement reiterates its firm and unwavering support for transitional justice and holding the figures of the former regime accountable, based on several previous working papers and political statements:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on these principles, the Syrian Future Movement puts forward a set of recommendations that reflect its position as an independent national political movement:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Conclusion<\/strong>: The Syrian Future Movement affirms that demanding the extradition of Bashar al-Assad is a true test of the Syrian government’s seriousness in implementing transitional justice and embodies the principle of “no immunity for perpetrators of crimes against humanity.” It also reflects a shift in Syrian political discourse from the logic of political compromises to the language of law and accountability. For our part, the Syrian Future Movement will always remain supportive, critical, and observant of this issue in all its details, calling on the Syrian government to continue on this path without backing down, as pursuing and prosecuting Bashar al-Assad is the essence of transitional justice and the foundation for building the new Syria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new step towards justice: The first official demand for the extradition of ousted President Bashar al-Assad from Russia opens the door to prosecuting crimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":64173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[4706],"class_list":["post-64175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-office-en","tag-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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