Atef Najib faces 10 charges in high-profile case in Syria | News about Bashar al-Assad

The cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad faces charges that include murder, torture and mass murder.

A cousin of Syria’s ousted leader, Bashar al-Assad, has been charged with nearly 10 crimes, including murder, torture and murder, in the second phase of the landmark trial.

Atef Najib, the former head of political security in Syria’s southern province of Deraa, appeared Sunday at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus wearing a striped prison uniform.

He is accused of overseeing violence against anti-government protesters in Deraa during the 2011 uprising, which sparked Syria’s 14-year civil war. Al Jazeera reporter Mubasher said 75 plaintiffs have filed charges against Najib and are expected to testify in court.

The meeting was attended by relatives of the victims, members of the National Transitional Justice Commission and representatives of international law and humanitarian organizations. After deliberations that lasted about an hour, the court entered the courtroom for the protection of other witnesses.

Najib first appeared in court on April 26 to prepare, but Sunday was the first regular day of his trial. The cases are the first attempt in Syria to bring Assad-era officials to justice.

Al-Assad and his brother Maher, the 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 of his group also fled to Syria.

The government of interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has been criticized for delaying the implementation of the justice system promised after the war, in which nearly half a million people were killed. But officials appear to be moving more aggressively to delay al-Assad-related officials.

Najib was in charge of political security in Deraa when youths who were writing on the school wall were arrested and tortured. This case caused many riots.

Interior Ministry forces arrested Najib in January 2025 during a security crackdown against remnants of the former regime in Latakia province. His arrest was considered one of the most significant arrests of former security officials since he had a tight security in Deraa at the beginning of the Syrian uprising.