Inside the Majdi N. Trial #3: Testimony of Context Witness Stéphane Valter, W1
TRIAL OF MAJDI N.
Court of Assize – Paris, France
Trial Monitoring Summary #3
Hearing Date: April 30, 2025
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: Rather than publishing the trial reports of the Majdi N. case in chronological order, SJAC has organized them thematically and coherently based on the content of the hearings, making the material more accessible by highlighting key issues and connections across the proceedings.]
SJAC’s 3rd trial monitoring report details day 2 afternoon of the trial of Majdi N. in Paris, France. On this trial day, context witness Stéphane Valter, W1, Professor of Arabic Language and Civilization at the University of Lyon, France, shared insights into the political history of modern Syria with a particular focus on sectarian coexistence. Witness Valter detailed the rise of the Ba’ath Party and the growing influence of the Alawis, highlighting it had been a largely isolated community. He shared his analysis on the difficulties for religious communities to coexist in Syria and depicted a long-standing climate of violence. Valter further noted that the rule of Islamist groups was not necessarily worse than that of the Syrian regime. Civil Parties’ Counsel Bailly took the occasion of his testimony to display an interview with a man from the Ghouta who was wounded because of Jaysh Al-Islam attacks and then detained and severely tortured by the group for over a year.
Day 2 – April 30, 2025
Afternoon Session
The Prosecution first requested to submit to the debate the documentary ‘Bashar Al Assad: Master Of Chaos’ and to show it during the trial. Presiding Judge Lavergne first accepted the request, but in the end, there was not enough time to proceed with the viewing.
Witness Valter relayed that he traveled to Syria for the first time in 1985–1986 and returned to Damascus between 1992 and 1997 to write his thesis on the historiography of the Syrian regime at the French Institute of the Near East (IFPO). He focused particularly on state-building and the relationships between communities. The last time he returned to Damascus was in 2012.
Witness Valter has also published articles on Sharia justice and Islamist groups in Syria. He explained he is interested in the Alawi doctrine and seeks to understand why Sunnis regard it as an abominable heterodoxy. His work constantly oscillates between religious and political dimensions.
Presiding Judge Lavergne’s Questioning of Stéphane Valter
Presiding Judge Lavergne inquired about the origin of modern Syria’s borders. Witness Valter explained that Syria used to be a province of the Ottoman Empire, adding that its current borders were defined by the Sykes-Picot Agreements after World War I. They are more or less artificial, he said. The country has been home to various religious communities, which led to tensions after Syria’s independence in 1946, he testified.
Presiding Judge Lavergne wanted to clarify if the Ba’ath Party was secular or sectarian, and where it existed. Witness Valter explained the Ba’ath Party was founded by one Sunni, one Alawi, and one Christian who aimed at overcoming sectarian divisions. The Ba’ath Party promoted Arab identity, socialism, and nationalism. Witness Valter noted that the party has branches in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan, but its most influential branches are those in Syria and Iraq.
Witness Valter explained that before the French mandate, the Alawi community was marginalized. However, under the French mandate, Alawis entered the army, which allowed them upward social mobility, especially within the security services. After Syria’s independence in 1946, Sunni officers took power. However, Witness Valter described that alongside the rise of the Ba’ath Party, a strong Alawi core emerged in the military.
He pointed out that the Ba’ath Party’s coup [in 1963] caused controversy, since its ideology did not align with traditional Islamic views, particularly regarding private property. The Ba’ath Party was indeed a socialist-leaning party composed of mostly secularists and Alawis. Witness Valter explained that the party began nationalizing private industries, triggering protests in the city of Hama and a call for jihad. Government forces responded by bombing mosques.
Witness Valter then mentioned the Marxist internal coup within the Ba’ath Party in 1966 [launched by the Party’s Military Committee, backing the radical leftist factions]. It was followed by Hafez al-Assad's coup in November 1970, and his constitutional project in 1972. This initiative led to serious unrest, as the Sunni population rejected the idea that Islam would not be the official state religion and did not view Assad as truly Sunni.
In 1976, Witness Valter continued, a strong Sunni opposition led by the Muslim Brotherhood—and supported by Jordan and Saudi Arabia—carried out bombings and assassinations across Syria. In June 1980, the government massacred around 500 political prisoners at Palmyra prison. In April 1981, [following uprisings by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Syrian government carried out] a massacre around Hama and Homs. Violence erupted again in 2011, after years of accumulated tension, Witness Valter concluded.
Responding to Presiding Judge Lavergne about religious communities, Witness Valter explained that the Druze, Christians, and Alawis were not particularly religious. However, among extremist Sunnis, people who are perceived as having left Islam can be punished by death, although Witness Valter emphasized that not all Sunnis were extremists.
Presiding Judge Lavergne asked if the Alawis were a branch of Shia Islam. Witness Valter confirmed they more or less were. In the 1980s, attempts arose to bring Alawis closer to the official Shia religion, but Witness Valter asserted that it didn’t really work, since members of Hezbollah did not regard them as "serious" Shia.
Witness Valter reckoned that Alawi beliefs remained quite unknown and depicted it as an esoteric religion. It is said that they venerate the Prophet’s cousin, Witness Valter reported, stressing that [the origin of their belief] remains unclear. Initially, the Alawis did not build mosques because they were poor, Witness Valter added, and they used to pray in the homes of community notables. Now, they have started to build some mosques, he said.
Witness Valter relayed that Christians and Alawis lived together in the mountains [of Western Syria], and that Alawis would often take part in Christian holidays, partly because they were poor and also because they could drink wine at the celebrations. The region was underdeveloped, marked by ignorance, and lacked any cultural centers, Witness Valter emphasized, and Alawis were poor and isolated. Many of the traits associated with them are the result of their socioeconomic status.
Presiding Judge Lavergne further questioned Witness Valter about the Alawis' links to power and the difficulties for religious communities to coexist. Witness Valter reported that Sunnis did not accept their rise to power in the 20th century and confirmed the Alawis were [now] often the closest to power. Witness Valter referenced a Sunni scholar who, in 1305, believed that Islamic minorities had sided with the Crusaders. Following that, the scholar issued a fatwa, which was essentially a call for genocide against the Alawis. Witness Valter noted this fatwa has remained etched in collective memory. Responding to Presiding Judge Lavergne, he defined a fatwa as a legal opinion or ruling issued by an Islamic scholar.
Presiding Judge Lavergne inquired about Sharia justice in Syria. Witness Valter responded that the justice imposed by Islamist groups wasn’t necessarily worse than the Syrian regime’s security system. He depicted a long-standing climate of violence in the country, noting that the people are very kind, but “can suddenly turn into wild beasts if you disagree with them.”
Presiding Judge Lavergne asked him if prisoners could represent a source of profit. To Witness Valter, prisoner exchanges existed but were not very common; however, kidnapping for ransom was more widespread. He mentioned an Alawi who even kidnapped his own uncle to demand ransom. Witness Valter regretted that people have lost their moral compass after violence, and that financial hardship corrupted everything.
Witness Valter referred to the story of one of his Sunni students in Lyon who told him that her uncle, from Homs, was imprisoned by the rebels who pretended his money was haram and that he had to repay everything to be released.
Presiding Judge Lavergne wondered if the term ‘At-Tawba’ [the name of one of Jaysh Al-Islam’s prisons near Douma, which can be translated as “repentance”] was used in Sharia justice. Witness Valter argued that granting ‘repentance’ for one’s crimes was recommended by the Quran, but its use depended on the judge and on external pressures. Valter explained that when the judge sits alone, it is complicated for him to grant repentance if the armed group [which arrested the accused] wants to execute him.
The Defense Counsels interrupted to request the Witness to quote his sources. Witness Valter replied that he based his statements on testimonies that he considered credible. Presiding Judge Lavergne reminded the Witness to clearly indicate when his statements are a hypothesis.
When questioned about Zahran Alloush [leader of Liwa Al-Islam and then Jaysh Al-Islam], Witness Valter said that at first, Liwa Al-Islam enjoyed relative popularity among the Sunnis. However, this popularity faded when the group launched rockets from Ghouta against neighborhoods they considered to be active or passive collaborators [with the regime]. For instance, Witness Valter reported that Liwa Al-Islam targeted a poor neighborhood hosting Palestinian, Kurd, and Iraqi refugees to the north of Damascus.
Zahran Alloush is said to have abused his power by setting up a racketeering system to finance his group, Witness Valter continued, noting that he wasn’t the only one; all the Alawi military groups were doing this, too. In December 2014, the inhabitants of Douma protested against the group's commercial monopoly.
In 2015 near Jobarجوبر, Witness Valter reported, a bus of female soldiers–probably Alawis–was hit by a rocket, and 55 women died. Witness Valter added that in the fall of 2016, somewhere in Ghouta, Jaysh Al-Islam allegedly attacked organizers of a conference on women’s political rights for “indecency.” Witness Valter deplored contempt for women on both sides; they were killed, raped, or reduced to captivity.
Civil Parties’ Counsels Questioning of Stéphane Valter
The Civil Parties requested the screening of a video showing and attributing to Jaysh Al-Islam a man’s execution in a public square by three bullets to the head. The Defense first argued the translation was generated by AI, and Presiding Judge Lavergne replied that a sworn translator had provided it. The Defense emphasized Majdi N. was not accused of those acts, and the laws of war do not ban the death penalty. Finally, the video was shown to the court.
Then, Counsel Bailly requested the screening of a video interview of a man, F1, that was simultaneously translated by the interpreter.
In the video, F1 stated that on June 18, 2018, he was with the commander of Jaysh Al-Umma [an Islamist opposition group in Ghouta which became an adversary of Jaysh Al-Islam. The trial monitor did not understand in what exact context F1 had contact with Jaysh Al-Umma in 2018]. One day, he woke up in the morning to the sound of an explosion in which [redacted information]. According to F1, the explosives used in the attack were items that only Jaysh Al-Islam had access to.
Twenty days later, an attack occurred against Jaysh Al-Umma. F1 heard that Jaysh Al-Islam was asking members of Jaysh Al-Umma to surrender. He was at home at the time, with his wife, children, brother, his brother’s wife, and their children. F1’s brother reportedly told him that he had seen several hooded individuals outside the house and asked if F1 knew who they were. F1 replied that he did not. He then contacted an entity responsible for operations [it was not specified with which faction this entity was affiliated] but received no response. [redacted information].
F1 explained that the hooded individuals barged into the neighbors’ house without apologizing, which, as he noted, was not culturally acceptable, especially since there were women in the house. The strangers took everything, including the electricity meter, and the women and children as well. F1 mentioned that he hid for two or three days after the incident.
A family member who was part of Jaysh Al-Islam sent F1 a message, stating that if he surrendered, he would be okay and released within three days. Following this, F1 decided to go see them.
He described being detained in a cell next to another prisoner, [redacted name], W11, a [redacted information] from Adra. F1 recalled that his arm smelled very bad and he thought it might have to be amputated.
F1 reported that interrogations of him took place from midnight to 6 a.m., while for others the interrogations occurred during the day. As F1 was [redacted information], he found it difficult to climb up to the second floor where the interrogations were held. The interrogators allegedly mocked him, saying that he hopped around like a rabbit.
He claimed that he was confronted with accusations for crimes he had never committed. The interrogator supposedly gave F1 several charges to choose from and told him to select the one that suited him best. When F1 denied committing any of the offenses, the interrogator allegedly used a stapler to pierce his ears. Another form of torture F1 described was when pencils were placed between his fingers and pressure was applied until his fingers broke. After each torture session, F1 stated that he was forced to be filmed saying that he was there because of accusations against him. He also stated that Jaysh Al-Islam never brought anyone before a judge.
F1 was placed in solitary confinement for a year and a half. Then, a judge came to interrogate him. However, F1 was blindfolded, so he couldn’t even tell who was speaking to him. This judge, F1 explained, was the first man he had seen in a year and a half. He was so happy to talk to someone that he reportedly told the judge everything his captors had done to him: presenting false accusations and torturing him.
The judge supposedly told him to speak, to which F1 asked for confirmation that he wouldn’t be sent back to prison. The judge allegedly promised he would not. Despite this promise, F1 reported that he was imprisoned again [the trial monitor missed a part likely referring to F1’s release] and has been on the run ever since.
Counsel Bailly then requested the screening of another video which had not been translated, and Presiding Judge Lavergne decided to first order a translation before displaying it in court.
Counsel Bailly referred to an article by Witness Valter where he wrote that Syrian civil society rejected the idea of religious justice and asked Witness Valter to comment. Witness Valter said after 2011, the other side was mutually perceived like an enemy who should be killed, and justice was irrelevant.
Prosecution's Questioning of Stéphane Valter
The Prosecutor asked Witness Valter to define Salafism. Valter explained "Salafism" comes from the word salaf, meaning "ancestors." Etymologically, it refers to the idea of returning to the first generations of Islam. However, Witness Valter explained, this term has taken on a political and religious dimension and now refers to people who want to apply a form of Islam inspired by the original model, sometimes very strict, even medieval. There are Salafists who limit themselves to preaching, and others who take action, Witness Valter added.
The Prosecutor referred to Witness Valter’s writings on the need for armed groups to restore some order after the fighting, i.e. imposing a puritanical lifestyle and establishing an Islamist police force whose role was to control. Witness Valter commented that Syria mainly consisted of traditional areas where people have a mindset different from ours. When a system collapses, something must be rebuilt–and there, the only perceived alternative is religion, i.e. traditional Islam. In Syria, people are not politicized but religious, Witness Valter further argued, perhaps excepting the Kurds. Beside Damascus and the Alawi mountains, the rest of Syria remained quite traditional.
Witness Valter added that from the start of the revolution, acts of revenge [against Alawis] arose. He mentioned having invited Alawi friends for a barbecue in Paris. They were not pro-regime, but they referred to barrel bombs as ‘blessed barrels’ – “people had gone mad,” he concluded.
Defense Counsel’s Questioning of Stéphane Valter
Counsel Ruiz asked Witness Valter if the Syrian revolution was a religious movement of revenge of Sunnis against Alawis or a political one. Witness Valter stressed it was also a social movement, after years of drought. According to him, the revolt started in the south of Syria, a disadvantaged region which endured high levels of corruption. Witness Valter believed there were a number of factors [explaining the revolution], along with an underlying religious issue that eventually exploded.
Counsel Ruiz wondered if Jaysh Al-Islam’s acts stem from religious revenge, or if they were a response to the abuses of Bashar Al-Assad’s clan. Witness Valter alluded to a combination of factors, adding the religious element was very present. He stressed intercommunal marriages were nonexistent, which reinforced the distrust between communities. Witness Valter believed there were deep-rooted issues that created an almost systemic culture of distrust which could originate in the fatwa of 1305.
Counsel Ruiz mentioned the torture of children in Dara’a which triggered the 2011 revolution. Witness Valter confirmed it did, adding the government didn’t arrest the perpetrators. However, Witness Valter noted, it quickly took on a sectarian dimension, quoting the Sunnis who would say [in Arabic] "The Christians to Beirut, the Alawis in the coffin."
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