Gareth Browne

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160 appearances 2 recordings 1 series first heard May 2026 last heard 20 Jul

Gareth Browne’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.

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The Intelligence from The Economist · Equal before the law? Transitional justice in Syria · 18 May 2026 podcast

He wasn't the face of the regime, but he's inherently associated with that repression right at the beginning of the Syrian Revolution.

I mean, firstly, this is going to be a big media and public spectacle in Syria.

Everyone is watching.

If you go to the court on days when there are hearings, hundreds of his alleged victims, their families, people who lost relatives in Detta are queuing up outside the court trying to get in.

Nearly 18 months after the fall of Bashar, many people feel the government really hasn't done anything regarding transitional justice.

But it's also an important test for the Syrian legal system.

What is the legal basis for these trials?

Is this going to be a kangaroo court with the sole aim of punishment and retribution?

Or can Syria and the Syrian government, the Transitional Justice Commission, demonstrate that they're capable of putting on a rigorous and fair trial?

in which the outcome can be sort of internationally lauded, but also accepted within the country, within Syria itself.

One thing that's noticeable is the government's interpretation of transitional justice.

Many people in Syria will say, Look, every side has blood on its hands, certainly members of Ahmed al Shahra's own group and other armed factions that have supported him in the presidency are accused of pretty gross human rights violations and war crimes themselves.

Certainly.

This is a double edged sword for Shara.

If you open the box of transitional justice too enthusiastically, it could swing back and it could hit your base, it could hit your closest

Associates.

And I think beyond that, the Syrian president, Ahmed El-Shara, has gone even further than that.

And he's actually recruited some of the people who were part of the regime.

Some senior figures have been brought into his government to help with particular things.

So working on security, working with the Alawite community, working on international affairs.

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