Syria begins trial of first Assad-era official in Damascus
Submitted by
Paloma Dupont de Dinechin
on
Sun, 04/26/2026 - 15:36
Atef Najib, cousin of Bashar al-Assad, is accused of orchestrating the repression of the first 2011 protests
Former head of political security in south Syria's Deraa province, Atef Najib attends the first trial session at the Palace of Justice, in Damascus on 26 April 2026 (AFP)
Off
A cage stood in the middle of the courtroom at the Palace of Justice, near al-Hamidiyah souk in central Damascus.
Around 11 am on Sunday, Atef Najib, cousin of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, expressionless and dressed in a brown striped prison uniform, is brought into the iron cage and sits down.
Najib, a former head of security, is accused of directing a violent crackdown on protesters during Syria's 2011 uprising and faces charges of "crimes against the Syrian people".
Facing him is a panel bearing the face of Hamza al-Khatib, a 13-year-old boy who became a symbol of the early days of the Syrian uprising.
In March 2011, in the wake of the Arab Spring, teenagers wrote anti-regime slogans on a school wall in Deraa, including "Doctor, it's your turn", in reference to Assad, a trained ophthalmologist.
Several children were detained and tortured in prison, triggering the first anti-government protests.
At the time, Najib oversaw a broad campaign of repression and arrests there.
In the courtroom, a young woman held up a photo of the boy. Families of the victims describe the moment as "historic".
A chant rang out: "The martyrs are the heroes. Atef, you are the dog."
People hold placards at the Palace of Justice ahead of the first trial session, in Damascus on 26 April 2026 (AFP)
A former head of political security in Deraa, Atef is among the first senior officials arrested on Syria's coast in January 2025, just weeks after the collapse of the government. Since then, families have been waiting for this trial.
The trial comes as Syrian authorities are seeking to demonstrate that transitional justice is advancing.
Two days earlier, Amjad Youssef, the main suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre, in which nearly 300 civilians were executed, was arrested. Footage at the time showed him shooting people before throwing them into a pit.
Yousef's arrest was widely publicised in Syria. The interior ministry released footage of the arrest in the Al-Ghab Plain area of Hama province in western Syria, near his hometown.
Syrians have been demanding justice for crimes committed under Assad's government since 8 December 2024, the day he was toppled. The transitional justice process has, however, remained slow in a country worn down by 14 years of war.
'We will pursue them all'
In the courtroom on Sunday, emotions ran high as families filed past the dock in front of a crowd of journalists.
"Transitional justice begins with him, trust the state and justice," said Damascus Public Prosecutor Hosam Khatab.
"He was the first 'pharaoh' when he gave the orders to fire on protesters," he said, using a term for officials of repression.
"This will be neither the first nor the last. We will pursue them all."
Turning to Najib, Khatab's voice grew louder: "Our God has given us what we wanted. And as for you: did your God, Bashar al-Assad, give you what he promised?"
Syrians live among bones after years of Tadamon killings
Read More »
There was no response from the dock. The prosecutor then announced a list of 10 suspects to be tried.
The first name cited is Bashar al-Assad. Others follow, including his brother Maher al-Assad, who commanded the 4th Armoured Division, an elite unit of the Syrian army that embodied the government's armed wing; Wassim al-Assad, another relative of the ousted president; former Grand Mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun; as well as military and security officials arrested in recent months.
Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia and will be tried in absentia.
The judge did not question Najib during Sunday's session, which focused on preparatory administrative and legal procedures. A second hearing will take place on 10 May.
The death penalty remains in force in Syria, while the concepts of crimes against humanity and war crimes have yet to be incorporated into national law.
"We must maintain a degree of neutrality and avoid overly political language to meet the standards of justice, even if it is difficult in the face of victims," an observer tasked with assessing the trial's impartiality on site told Middle East Eye.
"It will happen gradually. This was the first day."
At the end of the hearing, chants from the 2011 protests echoed once again as the detainee left the courtroom: "Syria is ours, not the Assad family's."
Outside the courthouse, after the trial, families waited for the bus back to Deraa in southern Syria, sitting on plastic chairs as traffic slowed around them.
Mothers, in tears, embraced each other, stroking each other's faces.
Warda, in her 50s, the mother of a young man killed in a security crackdown on protesters, said she believed Najib would be executed some day.
"This is the most beautiful day of my life. God has put him in a cage. We hope justice will prevail," Warda told MEE.
In late March 2011, days of protests and sit-ins were taking place around al-Omari Mosque. Security forces moved into the area, using tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protesters, killing dozens.
Warda's son, a bystander, was among those killed.
Syria after Assad
Damascus
News
Post Date Override
0
Update Date
Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19
Update Date Override
0