DAMASCUS — Atef Najib, a cousin of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and former political security chief in Daraa, appeared Sunday before the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, marking one of Syria’s first transitional justice trials.Al-Ikhbariya broadcast footage showing Najib inside the defendant’s cage after being brought to court in the Syrian capital.An unnamed judge said the opening transitional justice proceedings included Najib in custody and several defendants being tried in absentia.Those listed as fugitives included Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, former Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij, former military intelligence chief in Daraa Laith al-Ali, and former military intelligence chief in Suwayda Wafiq Nasser.The judge adjourned the hearing until May 10.Najib was arrested in January last year. He graduated from the Military Academy before joining Syria’s intelligence services, where he held several posts, including head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa.He is accused of being among the first officials to commit abuses against civilians in Daraa, widely regarded as the birthplace of the 2011 Syrian uprising.Najib is also accused of ordering the arrest and torture of children who wrote anti-government slogans on walls in Daraa, an incident that helped ignite the first protests of the Syrian conflict.In December 2024, Assad fled to Russia, ending decades of Baath Party rule. A transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January 2025.DAMASCUS — Atef Najib, a cousin of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and former political security chief in Daraa, appeared Sunday before the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, marking one of Syria’s first transitional justice trials.Al-Ikhbariya broadcast footage showing Najib inside the defendant’s cage after being brought to court in the Syrian capital.An unnamed judge said the opening transitional justice proceedings included Najib in custody and several defendants being tried in absentia.Those listed as fugitives included Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, former Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij, former military intelligence chief in Daraa Laith al-Ali, and former military intelligence chief in Suwayda Wafiq Nasser.The judge adjourned the hearing until May 10.Najib was arrested in January last year. He graduated from the Military Academy before joining Syria’s intelligence services, where he held several posts, including head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa.He is accused of being among the first officials to commit abuses against civilians in Daraa, widely regarded as the birthplace of the 2011 Syrian uprising.Najib is also accused of ordering the arrest and torture of children who wrote anti-government slogans on walls in Daraa, an incident that helped ignite the first protests of the Syrian conflict.In December 2024, Assad fled to Russia, ending decades of Baath Party rule. A transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January 2025.
