Syria holds public trial for Assad’s cousin over civilian crimes

Atef Najib, a cousin of deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and former head of political security in Daraa, appeared before the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus on Sunday in a public trial broadcast by Al-Ikhbariya television. Video footage showed Najib inside the defendant’s cage after being brought to the court in the Syrian capital. “The first trials of transitional justice in Syria include a detainee (Atef Najib) and defendants who are fugitives from justice,” an unnamed judge told the channel. The judge announced that the session would be adjourned until May 10.

Fugitives and charges

Among those still at large are Assad himself, his brother Maher Assad—commander of the notorious Fourth Division—former Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij, former military intelligence chief in Daraa Laith al-Ali, and former military intelligence chief in Suwayda province Wafiq Nasser. Najib, arrested in January last year, graduated from the Military Academy before joining the intelligence services. He is accused of being one of the first officials to commit violations against civilians in Daraa, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising. He is also blamed for the arrest and torture of children who had written anti-regime slogans on walls—an incident that sparked the initial protests in Syria.