Transitional commission to build case against ex-NDF chief Fadi Saqr

The National Commission for Transitional Justice is preparing a legal case against Fadi Saqr, the former commander of the National Defense Forces (NDF), accusing him of involvement in crimes against humanity, war crimes, mass killings and enforced disappearances in the Tadamon neighbourhood and other parts of Damascus during the war. Zahra al-Barazi, the commission’s deputy chair and adviser in the Foreign Ministry, told reporters the commission is working with victims and documented sources to compile evidence and will refer its findings to the Syrian judiciary, which must decide on arrest warrants. Al-Barazi said there is enough evidence, that witness protection measures are being arranged, and that the recent arrest of Amjad Yousef has increased pressure to pursue Saqr.

The move follows public anger over the new government’s reported cooperation with Saqr after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December 2024 and media reports — notably by The Guardian — that reviewed leaked videos showing executions and mass killings in Tadamon in 2013. Survivors and activists say Yousef was an executor and Saqr was the commanding figure who oversaw NDF operations. Saqr denies responsibility, saying he learned of the killings through media and that he assumed command after some recordings, while academics who reviewed the footage describe a sustained pattern of mass killings involving NDF members. The Damascus Bar Association removed Saqr from the lawyers’ registry in May 2025. as reported by Enab Baladi