The cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad faces charges including murder, torture and responsibility for massacres.
Posted on May 10, 2026
A cousin of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has been charged with at least 10 crimes, including murder, torture and responsibility for massacres, in the second session of a historic trial.
Atef Najib, former head of political security in Syria's southern Deraa province, appeared before the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus on Sunday in a cage and wearing a striped prison uniform.
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He is accused of overseeing a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in Deraa during the 2011 uprising, which sparked Syria's 14-year civil war. Al Jazeera correspondent Mubasher said 75 plaintiffs have filed cases against Najib and are expected to give evidence in court.
The session was attended by relatives of the victims, members of the National Commission for Transitional Justice and representatives of international legal and humanitarian organizations. After an open session that lasted about an hour, the court went into closed session to protect some witnesses.
Najib first appeared in court on April 26 for a preparatory session, but Sunday was the first major day of his trial. The trial marks the first effort in Syria to bring Assad-era officials to justice.
Al-Assad and his brother Maher, former commander of the Syrian army's 4th Armored Division, are being tried in absentia. Al-Assad fled to Russia in December 2024, and most members of his inner circle also escaped Syria.
The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has faced criticism for delays in launching the promised transitional justice process after the war, in which an estimated half a million people died. But now authorities appear to be moving more aggressively to prosecute officials linked to Assad.
Najib oversaw political security in Deraa when teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall were arrested and tortured. The case became the catalyst for a broader uprising.
The Interior Ministry's General Security forces arrested Najib in January 2025 during a security campaign targeting the remnants of the previous government in Latakia province. His arrest was considered one of the most significant detentions of former security officials because he held a sensitive security position in Deraa at the beginning of the Syrian uprising.
