Atef Najib, the cousin of ousted ex-president Bashar al-Assad and former head of political security in the Syrian city of Daraa, has appeared before the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, Anadolu broadcast.

Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast video footage of Najib being seen in the defendant’s cage after being brought to court in the Syrian capital.

“The first transitional justice trials in Syria include a detainee (Atef Najib) and the defendants who are on the run,” the channel quoted an unidentified judge as saying.

Among the fugitives are Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher Assad, commander of the Fourth Division, as well as former Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij, former head of military intelligence in Daraa, Laith al-Ali, and former head of military intelligence in Suwayda province, Wafiq Nasser.

The judge adjourned the hearing until May 10.

Najib, who was arrested in January last year, graduated from the Military Academy before joining the intelligence services, where he held several positions, including the Political Security Branch in Daraa.

He is accused of being one of the first to commit violations against civilians in Daraa, the city where this year’s uprising began. 2011.

He is also blamed for arresting and torturing children in Daraa who had written anti-regime slogans on walls, an incident that sparked the first protests in Syria.

In December 2024, al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia, ending decades of Baath Party rule that began in 1963. A transitional administration of led by president Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January 2025.

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Source: prizrenpost