Bashar al-Assad
Poisoned Chalice
After Syria’s Daraa fell to regime forces in 2018, at least 24 people, including former rebel commanders, civilians and two children, were poisoned in assassination attempts tied to Assad's intelligence branches.
The Writing on the Wall
Syria's first major trial of deposed regime figures ended in nine death sentences, including for Bashar and Maher al-Assad and Atef Najib, who ran the Political Security branch in Daraa in 2011. Survivors of the Daraa schoolboy arrests testified. Rights groups called the proceedings historic but flawed.
What the Islamic Republic Learned About Repression From Syria
Like the Assad regime that it assisted, the Islamic Republic has responded to mass protests by committing atrocities and claiming that protesters are foreign-backed “terrorists and spies.” The parallels indicate how far Iran is willing to go to ensure its survival.
How the Assad Regime Disappeared Thousands of Children
During 14 years of war that claimed more than half a million lives and displaced 13 million people, the Assad regime disappeared over 150,000 Syrians — including the children of its opponents. The systematic abuse they faced is still not being adequately investigated.
How the Damascus Dossier Investigation Failed Families of Syria’s Forcibly Disappeared
When a consortium of international journalists published stories on a leak including 33,000 photographs of detainees killed by the Bashar al-Assad regime, they expected praise. Instead, families of the forcibly disappeared condemned it as exploitative and harmful, raising urgent questions about journalistic ethics, accountability and who investigations like this are really for.
Syria’s New Order Is Not As Fragile As It Seems
The people now running Syria didn’t just replace Assad — they inherited the revolutionary energy that toppled him. That’s what makes the country’s new order both resilient and paranoid.
The Syrians in European Limbo
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime brought euphoria to millions of Syrians in exile, but also created political and legal uncertainty. As some European states suspend asylum claims or discuss revoking refugee status, activists are campaigning for temporary return permits that would allow Syrians to reconnect without losing protection.