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Houla probe begins
The National Commission for Transitional Justice began listening to relatives of victims, survivors, and witnesses of the Houla massacre in the Homs countryside as part of efforts to uncover the truth and deliver justice to victims.
“The National Commission for Transitional Justice has begun listening to relatives of victims, survivors, and witnesses of the Houla massacre, which was carried out by elements loyal to the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime in 2012 in the countryside of the Homs Governorate, as part of the Commission's efforts to uncover the truth and deliver justice to the victims”
Al-Jazeera Net said the head of the Commission, Abdul Basit Abdul-Latif, announced the start of formal investigations into the 'Houla massacre,' confirming the opening of a Commission center soon in the city of Homs.
SANA reported that, in the presence of Abdul Basit Abdul-Latif, the Commission began fieldwork in the al-Houla area in the Homs countryside on Sunday to document testimonies as part of the truth-seeking and fact-finding process.
SANA also quoted Dr. Ahmed Saifo saying the visit to al-Houla stems from the rights of the area's residents and all Syrians to know the truth of what happened, and to see justice realized against those responsible for the massacre.
The sources tied the massacre to 25 May 2012, when the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 107 civilians were killed, including 49 children and 32 women, in the countryside of the Homs Governorate.
Competing views on justice
JINHAGENCY framed Syria’s transitional justice path as a selective process led by a party accused of abuses, arguing it deprives the effort of its fundamental conditions and turns it into a political tool that does not deliver justice to victims.
JINHAGENCY said Farah Al-Aql, a journalist from Suwayda, argued that transitional justice rests on four fundamental pillars—uncovering the truth, accountability, redress for harm, and guarantees of non-recurrence—while the Interim Government leading the path is accused of undermining them.
Al-Jazeera Net reported that, during the hearing, one of the mothers of the victims recounted details of the raid on her family's home, saying she heard the attackers issuing orders among themselves to kill the children before the adults.
Al-Jazeera Net also included a filmed scene published by the Syria Now platform in which the mother said, "they all died."
JINHAGENCY added that Farah Al-Aql described the trials and reports as “propaganda and theatre,” and argued that real accountability must begin with punishing those who issued the orders, i.e., the leaders at the head of the power pyramid.
Decree, testimonies, and risk
SANA said Syria has continued to advance the path of transitional justice since December 8, 2024, and it cited that President Ahmad al-Shara’ issued Decree No. 20 on May 17, 2025, ordering the formation of the National Commission for Transitional Justice.
“Homs-SANA The National Commission for Transitional Justice, in the presence of its head Abdul Basit Abdul-Latif, today (Sunday) began its fieldwork in the al-Houla area in the Homs countryside, conducting meetings with survivors, relatives of victims, and witnesses to the Houla massacre, with the aim of documenting their testimonies as part of the truth-seeking and fact-finding process, in preparation for continuing investigations related to the massacre”
SANA reported that Dr. Ahmed Saifo said the commission’s work is not limited to documenting the crime, but also includes examining the causes and circumstances that led to its occurrence by directly listening to the witnesses and victims.
SANA quoted Mohammad Al-Sayed, one of the massacre’s relatives, expressing satisfaction with the visit, considering it a tangible reflection of the transitional justice pathway in Syria, contributing to stability and preventing chaos and individual acts of retribution.
JINHAGENCY warned that, in Farah Al-Aql’s view, the process risks becoming “selective and punitive justice” that moves away from the essence of transitional justice and becomes a tool for liquidating opponents.
JINHAGENCY also said Farah Al-Aql emphasized that all those accused of abuses after December 8, 2024 remain at large, living among the people without arrest or accountability, which she said turns transitional justice into a hollow slogan devoid of its true substance.
