Inside the Coastal Incidents Trial – Government’s Affiliates #2: New Counsel, New Extension of Time

TRIAL OF THE COASTAL INCIDENTS

Military Criminal Court – Aleppo, Syria

Trial Monitoring Summary #2 – Government’s Affiliates

Hearing Date: April 16, 2026

CAUTION: Some testimony may include graphic descriptions of torture, rape or other violent acts.

Note that this summary is not a verbatim transcript of the trial; it is merely an unofficial summary of the proceedings.

Throughout this summary, [information located in brackets are notes from our trial monitor] and “information placed in quotes are statements made by the witness, Judges or counsel.” The names and identifying information of witnesses have been redacted.

[Note: SJAC provides a summary of the proceedings while redacting certain details to protect witness privacy and to preserve the integrity of the trial.]

[Note: Following the first session of the trial, in which all Accused — both Assad and Government affiliates — appeared before the Court, the Accused were severed into two groups based on their affiliations. Therefore, the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) decided to separate the trial reports according to the Accused’s affiliations.]

SJAC’s 2nd trial monitoring report details day 5 in the trial of the government’s affiliates pertaining to the coastal incident, taking place in Aleppo, Syria. On this trial day, a new Defense Counsel volunteered to defend the accused. Therefore, the Court decided to adjourn the hearing and granted him time to prepare the defense arguments.

Day 5 – April 16, 2026

The trial proceedings began at 10:00 AM.

The First Case

The Accused, Basel M., was called, and Counsel C5 [redacted name] [who is the [redacted information] and volunteered to defend them pro bono] appeared with him.

The Presiding Judge noted that it had been decided in the previous session to conduct an expert analysis [on a video clip attributed to one of the Accused] and to pay an advance fee of 4,500 Syrian Pounds. The Judge wanted to know if the Defense was ready to pay the fee. Counsel C5 requested an extension of time to review the case file, prepare arguments, and respond to the request for conducting the expert analysis, given the recency of the power of attorney.

The Court decided to grant the Defense Counsel an extension of time until the session of Thursday, May 7, 2026.

The Second Case

The Accused, captain Mustafa S., Aburra’ouf A., and Khaled M., were called, and Counsel C5, [redacted name], appeared with them, volunteering to defend them pro bono. Mohammad Z. and Mahmoud S. were called, and Counsel C6, [redacted name], appeared with them to defend them.

Both Counsel requested an extension of time to review the case file, prepare arguments, and respond to the request for conducting the expert analysis, given the recency of the power of attorney.

The Court decided to grant both Defense Counsel an extension of time until the session of Thursday, May 7, 2026.

The proceedings were adjourned at 11:00AM.

The next trial day will be on May 7, 2026, at 10AM.

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