Fadi Saqr is accused of mass killings of civilians in Tadamon, Damascus, where people say he must face justice
A Syrian rights commission is preparing a case accusing Fadi Saqr, a militia leader within the Assad regime, of involvement in crimes against humanity and war crimes, a senior Syrian official has told the Guardian.
Saqr is a former commander of the National Defence Forces (NDF) militia and is widely accused of involvement in the mass killing and forcible disappearance of civilians in the Tadamon neighbourhood of Damascus, as well as other parts of the Syrian capital.
After Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president, was ousted in December 2024, Syria’s new government collaborated with Saqr on security files, causing anger among victims who had sought accountability for his alleged crimes.
Zahra al-Barazi, the deputy chair of the National Commission for Transitional Justice and an adviser in Syria’s foreign ministry, said the commission was working with victims to build a case against Saqr. Although the commission was appointed by the Syrian government, it is an independent body that will refer its findings to the Syrian judiciary, which in turn will decide whether or not to pursue the case.
