Trial Monitoring

SJAC’s comprehensive trial monitoring program establishes a historical record of Syria-related trials and ensures the availability of documentation for victims and families. Many domestic trials of perpetrators in the Syrian context lack official court transcripts and/or translations, rendering proceedings opaque, limiting the scope of testimony available, and hindering future opportunities for reflection on human rights violations and justice processes.

SJAC’s trial monitoring program started in April 2020 with the trial of Anwar R. and Eyad Al-Gharib in Koblenz, Germany. SJAC’s trial monitoring team also followed the trial of an affiliate of the former Assad government and doctor at military hospitals, Alaa M., that was heard in Frankfurt, Germany from January 2022 to June 2025, the trial against former Syrian government militia member, Ahmad H., which lasted from  May to December 2024 in Hamburg, Germany, and the in absentia trial against Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud in Paris, France in May 2024 (Dabbagh Trial).

In addition to cases of former Syrian government affiliates, SJAC monitored trials against ISIS and other armed groups such as against former Jaysh al-Islam spokesperson Majdi Nema aka Islam Alloush in Paris, France and former ISIS affiliate Hasna A. in the Hague, Netherlands. Currently, SJAC is following the trial against Twana H.S. and Asia R.A., that started in May 2025 in Munich, Germany.

SJAC started monitoring the first trial of a former Hezbollah member, Ammar A., in Stuttgart, Germany, and against Mohammad A. and Asmael K., two ISIS affiliates who were tried in Duesseldorf, Germany. Unfortunately, SJAC had to discontinue the project in February 2025 due to suspension of funds following the U.S. Foreign Aid freeze.

SJAC has compiled several resources ranging from accompanying analyses, reports, and lists of witnesses for each trial. To access the resources, click on the links below

SJAC’s trial monitors are not only following trials in Europe, but also cases of ISIS members in the United States, such as the cases against El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey (the so-called “ISIS Beatles”) at the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, USA. Other cases SJAC has previously tracked include the ISIS propogandist Mohammad Khalifa and the case of Allison Fluke-Ekren. In partnership with the Loyola Justice for Atrocities Clinic, SJAC is also monitoring the proceedings against Samir Al-Sheikh, who is currently being tried before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

As part of its trial monitoring project, SJAC publishes regular trial reports, explanatory articles, detailed analytical reports on the proceedings available in both English and Arabic. During the latter half of the trial of Anwar Raslan, SJAC produced a bi-weekly Arabic language podcast which explained the fundamentals of Universal Jurisdiction and key events taking place during the trial. The podcast is available on Spotify. SJAC provides additional resources on Universal Jurisdiction and Witness Protection in Europe.