Atef Naguib claims innocence and holds other security branches responsible for Daraa's crimes

Atef Naguib, the former head of the political security branch in Daraa at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, denied all charges against him of committing violations against the people of the province, according to a video recording of the second session of his trial published by the Ministry of Justice late on Saturday evening, May 16, 2026.

Naguib appeared in the cage of the Fourth Criminal Court at the Justice Palace in Damascus  and said that he had not arrested the children who wrote anti-regime slogans in 2011, and that the  Military Security Branch bears responsibility for this, claiming that he tried to mediate their release at the request of Sheikh Ahmed al-Sayasneh.

 Najib added that the head of the Military Security Branch informed him at the time that the children had been transferred to the Palestine branch, and Najib blamed other security branches – including State Security, Military Security and Air Force Intelligence – for the shooting of demonstrators and the first two martyrs in Daraa, stressing that he had rejected orders from Hisham Bakhtiar to participate in the suppression of the protests.

Questioning the official accounts and the testimonies of the parents

During the interrogation, Najib denied all the charges against him by Judge Fakhreddine El-Erian, which were based on the testimonies of family members and former detainees.

He claimed that no arrest or torture warrants were issued, and that his branch had not detained anyone for more than 24 hours without referring to the Political Security Division in Damascus, denying that there had been any deaths within the branch during his tenure.

 He said  he headed the Political Security branch only a few days before he was dismissed on March 22, 2011, and that he had not taken any official action since then, noting that his accusation of responsibility for the shooting was aimed at implicating him because of "sensitivities among the security branches."

Extensive indictment

The judge indicted the defendants related to the 2011 events, including the suppression of peaceful protests in Daraa and the torture of detainees, including minors, including nails, electric shocks, the use of excessive force during arrests, extortion through arrest, and the issuance of direct arrest warrants, torture, and responsibility for the massacre of the Omari Mosque.

75 Plaintiffs against Naguib

The Fourth Criminal Court set June 20 as the date for the third session of Naguib's trial, at the conclusion of the second session, which was held on Sunday, May 10, amid strict judicial procedures.

Sources told "Syrian News" that 75 plaintiffs filed lawsuits against Naguib and  testified in court, where the court held a closed session after an open session that lasted about an hour, while the judge requested that the session be closed in the presence of some confidential witnesses, as  the Ministry of Justice media recorded the proceedings of the session.

The judge presented the names of defendants who were absent from the session, foremost of whom were Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad, and their absence was confirmed and they were considered fugitives, and the trial of the fugitive defendants was taken, with measures taken related to depriving them of civil rights, and placing their movable and immovable assets wherever they exist under the administration of the state.