The judge of the Fourth Criminal Court brought a list of charges linked to events in 2011 against Atef Najib, the cousin of Bashar al-Assad, head of the ousted regime.
The second session of Najib’s trial was held on Sunday, May 10, in Damascus, amid judicial measures and broad public attention to the proceedings.
The judge of the Fourth Criminal Court, Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, issued a decision to halt live broadcasting from inside the courtroom to media outlets because the pleadings and questions included documents, names of protected witnesses, and confidential information.
The judge asked media representatives to leave the courtroom, while the session would remain public “with those present” from the representatives of the claimants and the Public Prosecution.
The Justice Ministry’s media office will record the proceedings of the session, and the recordings will later be made available after being reviewed and after the names of witnesses and confidential materials are removed.
The session included hearing the testimonies of claimants and witnesses, as well as questioning the defendant, as part of the second session of the ongoing trial.
During the session, the judge directed several charges against Najib, including suppressing peaceful protests in Daraa (southern Syria), causing detainees, including minors, to be subjected to physical torture, including the pulling out of fingernails, electric shocks, threats against their families, and the use of excessive force during arrests.
The charges also included using detention as a means of extortion, issuing direct orders for detention and torture in his capacity as the top official in charge of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, in addition to his responsibility for the al-Omari Mosque massacre.
The session also addressed torture practices inside detention centers affiliated with Political Security in Daraa, while emphasizing Najib’s command responsibility for those violations.
The judge also read the names of defendants absent from the session, led by Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad. Their absence was recorded, and they were considered fugitives to be tried under procedures for fugitive defendants, with measures taken to strip them of civil rights and place their movable and immovable assets, wherever found, under state administration.
First Session
The first trial session of Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa (southern Syria), began on Sunday, April 26, at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, while the judge brought charges against several figures from the Assad regime, led by Bashar al-Assad, to be tried in absentia.
The Criminal Court opened its first session to examine the charges against Atef Najib, amid broad legal and media attention.
Before suspending the session, the court panel called for the second time the names of the defendants listed and recorded their absence in the session minutes.
The names included:
- Bashar Hafez al-Assad
- Maher Hafez al-Assad
- Fahd Jassem al-Freij
- Mohammad Ayman Ayoush
- Louay Ali al-Ali
- Qusay al-Mahyoub
- Wafiq Saleh Nasser
- Talal Fares al-Aismy
The head of the court panel confirmed that the notification warrants for the defendants had been “duly served” at their last place of residence, and that when they were called again, they did not appear.
Accordingly, the Fourth Criminal Court panel in Damascus decided to issue deadline decisions for the absent defendants and to notify them duly under the provisions of “Article 322” of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The court decided to suspend the session until Sunday, May 10, while renewing notifications against defendants who are in hiding.
The sessions will include a review of files related to security violations, arrests, and practices connected to the management of the security file in Daraa during the first years of the revolution.
According to Enab Baladi’s correspondent inside the courtroom, several lawyers and human rights defenders attended alongside victims’ relatives, in the first trial session announced by the Syrian government as part of the process of holding officials of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime accountable.
The session was also attended by the attorney general of the republic and the first public attorney in Damascus, alongside representatives of the Transitional Justice Commission, as well as Arab delegations who came to follow the proceedings of the first announced trials within the accountability process for officials of the former regime.
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