Atef Najib faces at least 10 charges in landmark Syria trial
Key takeaways
- The cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad faces charges that include murder, torture and responsibility for massacres.
- Atef Najib, the former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province, appeared in the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus on Sunday in a cage and wearing a striped prison uniform.
- He is accused of overseeing a violent crackdown on antigovernment protesters in Deraa during the 2011 uprising, which sparked Syria’s 14-year civil war.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad faces charges that include murder, torture and responsibility for massacres.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Deraa during Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule attends a preparatory session in his war crimes and murder trial at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, on April 26, 2026.[Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff Published On 10 May 202610 May 2026A cousin of toppled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has been charged with at least 10 crimes, including murder, torture and responsibility for massacres, in the second session of a landmark trial.
Atef Najib, the former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province, appeared in the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus on Sunday in a cage and wearing a striped prison uniform.