US EditionSyria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials opens in Damascus
Atef Najib appeared in person as Bashar al-Assad and others were charged in absentia in a case tied to killings, torture and mass detentions.
- On Sunday, April 26, 2026, a Damascus court opened Syria's first public trial of former regime officials, with former Political Security Branch head Atef Najib appearing in person in the defendants' cage.
- Prosecutors charged Najib alongside ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad in absentia, all facing accusations of 'crimes against the Syrian people' stemming from regime-era atrocities.
- Najib previously headed security forces in Daraa, where Syria's 2011 uprising erupted after teenagers were detained and tortured for scrawling anti-government graffiti on a school wall.
- The judge held a procedural session Sunday and scheduled the next hearing for May 10, while crowds gathered outside the Palace of Justice celebrating the accountability milestone.
- While officials frame the trial as a pivotal transitional justice moment, legal experts including Damascus Attorney General Hossam Khattab expressed concerns that the absence of a dedicated transitional justice law undermines the framework.
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Korrespondent.netAmong the accused are Bashar Al-Assad himself.
Assad's Cousin Stands Trial in Damascus for Crackdown That Sparked Syria's Uprising
“The day has come, Atef Najib, the day has come.” The chant rose inside the Palace of Justice in central Damascus, carried by families of victims as they filed into the courtroom, heads held high. Moments earlier, they had sung songs from Daraa: “Daraa al-balad, oh vast land, oh mighty mountain.” Outside, police checkpoints blocked access to the building, and a heavy security presence surrounded the courthouse. Inside, corridors across three flo…
The Syrian authorities opened the first public trial against important representatives of the dethroned regime on Sunday, thus marking an important step in judicial proceedings related to the crimes committed against the Syrian people, reports the Syrian press agency SANA.
The Syrian President, who fled the country in December 2024, will be tried in absentia, as will most of his relatives, for the abuses committed during the civil war that broke out in March 2011.
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