Court Trials for Former Syrian Leaders

Apr 26, 2026, 15:52

Introduction

A court in Damascus started trials for leaders of the old government. Bashar al-Assad lost power in December 2024.

Main Body

A judge started the first meeting on Sunday. Atef Najib was in court. He is a cousin of the old president. The court says he hurt children in 2011. Other leaders are not in the country. They are in Russia. The court has charges against Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher. Maher is accused of selling drugs and stealing money. Syria had a war for 14 years. Many people died. The new government wants to punish the old leaders. Some victims want the leaders to die for their crimes.

Conclusion

The court will have more meetings on May 10. They will talk about the crimes of the old leaders.

Vocabulary Learning

accuse (v.)
blame / to say that someone did something wrong指控；控告
Example:They accuse the man of stealing a car.
crime (n.)
an action that is against the law罪行
Example:Stealing is a serious crime in every country.
government (n.)
the group of people who rule a country政府
Example:The new government wants to help the poor people.
judge (n.)
a person who decides things in a court法官
Example:The judge listens to both sides before making a decision.
punish (v.)
to make someone suffer for doing something bad懲罰
Example:Parents sometimes punish their children for being rude.

Sentence Learning

A court in Damascus started trials for leaders of the old government.
Prepositional Phrase: The phrase "in Damascus" identifies the specific location of the court.介詞短語：「in Damascus」短語標示了法院所在的具體地點。
Bashar al-Assad lost power in December 2024.
Time Marker: The phrase "in December 2024" tells us the month and year when the event happened.時間標記：「in December 2024」短語告訴我們事件發生的月份和年份。
Maher is accused of selling drugs and stealing money.
Basic Connector: The word "and" is used to link two similar ideas or actions together.基本連接詞：「and」一詞用於將兩個相似的想法或動作連結起來。
A judge started the first meeting on Sunday.
Time Marker: We use the preposition "on" before specific days of the week.時間標記：我們在星期的特定日子之前使用介詞「on」。
Syria had a war for 14 years.
Prepositional Phrase: The word "for" followed by a number of years shows how long something lasted.介詞短語：「for」後面接上年份數字，表示某事持續的時間長度。