Inside the Coastal Incidents Trial – Government’s Affiliates #3: Either Acquittal or Mercy
TRIAL OF THE COASTAL INCIDENTS
Military Criminal Court – Aleppo, Syria
Trial Monitoring Summary #3 – Government’s Affiliates
Hearing Date: May 7, 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 3rd trial monitoring report details day 7 in the trial of the government’s affiliates pertaining to the coastal incident, taking place in Aleppo, Syria. On this trial day, one of the Defense Counsels requested to waive the technical expert analysis of a video clip showing his client. The Defense Counsel submitted an argument requesting acquittal for their clients, otherwise, mercy and leniency.
Day 7 – May 7, 2026
The trial proceedings began at 10:00 AM.
The First Case
The Accused, Basel M., was called. C7 [redacted name] and C5 [redacted name] were present with him as his Defense Counsel.
The Defense submitted a four-page defense memorandum and requested to waive the technical expert analysis of the video recordings [showing his client. For more details, please see Trial Report #2] because they were not needed anymore, and petitioned for leniency and mercy for their client.
The Court decided to grant the Defense's request and waive the matter of the technical expert analysis.
The Court asked the Accused if he had any additional statements he wished to make. The Accused replied that he had nothing new to add.
The Defense repeated its previous statements.
The Prosecutor stated that he adheres to and adopts his previous statements, requesting a ruling in accordance with the indictment.
The Court decided to submit the papers for review and to adjourn the session to Thursday, June 4, 2026.
The Second Case
The Accused, Captain Mustafa S., Ammar A., Mohammad Z., Aburra’ouf A., Mahmoud S., and Khaled M., were called. Defense Counsel C5 [redacted name], C1 [redacted name], and C8 [redacted name] [full name not recorded] appeared with them.
Defense Counsel C8 presented a four-page defense memorandum, which was read out and added to the case file. He then requested acquittal for his client, or otherwise, mercy.
Defense Counsel C5 presented a four-page defense memorandum, which was read out and added to the case file. He then requested leniency and mercy for the clients.
Defense Counsel C1 requested the acquittal of his clients, Mohammad Z., Aburra’ouf A., and Mahmoud S., or otherwise, leniency and mercy.
The Court asked the Accused if they had any other statements. All the Accused replied that they had nothing to add.
The Court decided to submit the papers for review and to adjourn the session to Thursday, June 4, 2026.
The proceedings were adjourned at 10:00AM.
The next trial day will be on June 4, 2026, at 10AM.
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