Syrians in exile say Arab normalisation with Assad audacious but not surprising

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attends the Arab League summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS

BERLIN (Reuters) - As Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addressed Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday, a group of Syrian refugees was in Germany learning to use international law to prosecute war criminals – which they hoped to apply to him someday.

‮"‬Every Syrian who suffered from this regime could represent a lawsuit and we will file these lawsuits. Even if the whole world stands with him, we will bring him to justice," said Houaida Muhi Aldeen, a 49-year-old Syrian living in France and a former political detainee in Syrian prisons.