The public trial of the first of hundreds of suspects accused of crimes during deadly clashes and sectarian killings on Syria’s Alawite-majority coast began on Tuesday, marking the first step in a closely watched and unprecedented accountability process.

Half of the 14 defendants stand accused of attacking the transitional government’s security forces on behalf of the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime this past March, while the others—members of the new security forces—are accused of killing unarmed civilians in the spiral of bloodshed that followed. 

The men are among more than 500 suspects referred for prosecution following a months-long government inquiry into days of violence on the coast that left at least 1,426 people dead, most of whom were Alawite civilians.

Outside the Palace of Justice in Aleppo city on Tuesday, 14 defendants filed out of white vans into a chilly November morning. Heads bowed, they made their way into the towering building to a small courtroom, where judges, observers, journalists and relatives waited. 

During the roughly two-hour hearing, presiding Judge Zakariya Bakkar stressed the court’s impartiality and independence. “We have [Syrian] citizens accused of crimes,” he said. “We don’t have remnants [of the old regime]. We have suspects and rebels.” 

Charges against those associated with the former regime include “sedition [and] incitement to civil and sectarian war,” while those belonging to government forces are accused of killing unarmed civilians, as documented in videos that circulated widely on social media.

Tuesday’s hearing was ultimately brief, with Judge Bakkar adjourning the session and rescheduling upcoming hearings for December. A long process lies ahead, but the trial’s start marks a “step in the right direction,” Fadel Abdul Ghany, the head of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) told Syria Direct. 

“This is unprecedented in Syria, and extremely important,” Abdul Ghany said. “For the first time, security and military forces affiliated with the authorities themselves are being held accountable.”