A Syrian court on Sunday held a preparatory session for a trial of several former officials in President Bashar Assad 's deposed government, with only one of the defendants physically present in court.  Assad's government was ousted , after more than a decade of civil war,  in December 2024 . He, his brother and other senior officials face trial for alleged crimes committed amid the fierce fighting. "Today we begin the first trials of transitional justice in Syria," judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said as he opened the session. "This includes a defendant in custody, present in the dock, as well as defendants who have fled justice."  There was considerable public interest in the hearing, even thought it was primarily procedural in nature Image: Ghaith Alsayed/AP Photo/picture alliance Who is facing trial, in court or in absentia?  Bashar Assad, whose family ruled Syria for more than five decades, and his brother Maher fled Syria as the former government fell.…