Can Syria deliver transitional justice?

A court has sentenced ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad and others to death in absentia.Syrians have been demanding accountability for the murders, disappearances and torture carried out by the government of Bashar al-Assad during nearly 14 years of war.Now a court in Damascus has sentenced al-Assad to death in absentia, along with his brother Maher and six other former high-ranking officials, for crimes carried out during the conflict.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Bashar al-Assad, Atef Najib sentenced to death in landmark Syria triallist 2 of 4‘They need each other’: What’s behind the new Syria-Russia accord?list 3 of 4Several wounded in minibus blast near Syria’s Damascuslist 4 of 4Who is Atef Najib, former Syrian official sentenced to death with al-Assad?end of listAl-Assad’s cousin and former Deraa province security chief Atef Najib was present at the trial and also sentenced to death.The verdicts are being hailed by Syria’s new government as a landmark moment for justice. But they raise questions about what transitional justice should entail.How far will the government go in pursuing former regime officials?Presenter: James BaysGuests: Labib Nahhas – Analyst focusing on SyriaFadel Abdulghany – Founder and executive director of the Syrian Network for Human RightsGamal Mansour – Political scientist whose research focuses on Syria under the al-Assad regime