There were highly charged scenes as former senior regime official, Atef Najib, appeared before a Damascus court.
Formerly sentenced to death, Judge al-Aryan now oversees trial, but transitional justice still far from complete.
Syria begun its first public trial of former Assad-era officials, with ex-security chief Atef Najib appearing in court.
Cement company Lafarge and eight of its ex-employees were found guilty of financing ISIL in a French court.
Long running case regarding Lafarte's actions amid Syrian civil war sees company ordered to pay fine, executives jailed.