The First Public Trial of the Elements of the Former Regime in the Transitional Justice Track
On the morning of Sunday, April 26, 2026, the first session of the trial of the former Syrian regime's members was held, where they were charged with committing "crimes and violations against the Syrian people, and the session was public and was held inside the Fourth Criminal Court at the Judicial Palace in Damascus.
Of the 9 defendants whose names were mentioned in the case file, Major General Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, was present as the only defendant present inside the courtroom, and at the beginning of the session, the judge called out the names of "the defendant Bashar Hafez al-Assad" and "Maher Hafez al-Assad", before registering them as defendants in absentia for not attending.
Before the suspension of the hearing, the court panel appealed for the second time to the defendants whose names were mentioned, and it was confirmed that they did not attend the minutes of the hearing, where the president of the court confirmed that the defendants' notification memoranda was "duly notified" to their last residence, and that by repeating the call against them again, they did not attend.
Therefore, the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus decided to formulate deadlines for absent defendants and to duly communicate them in accordance with the provisions of Article 322 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The judge announced that the next session will be held on May 10 , and will also be public, with full confidentiality granted to witnesses to preserve their safety, and Atef Najib attended wearing a prison uniform, along with a number of the victims' families in Daraa province.
List of Accused
The list of defendants in absentia included former Minister of Defense Fahd Jassim Al-Freij, Brigadier General Mohammed Ayman Ayoush, Brigadier General Louay Al-Ali, head of the Military Security Branch in Daraa, Brigadier General Qusay Mahyoub, Major General Wafiq Nasser, former head of the Military Security Branch in Sweida, and Brigadier General Talal Al-Osaimi.
Abdelbaset Abdellatif, head of the National Authority for Transitional Justice, wrote on the "X" platform: "The first session of the trial of Atef Naguib begins... A long-awaited step on the road to justice. From Daraa, where the spark started, to the courtroom today... Accountability is actually advancing, and the doors of truth are opening. There is no impunity, and justice continues."
Justice Minister Mazhar al-Weis wrote on Friday in a post on "X" that the Damascus Criminal Court is "preparing for the long-awaited moment by the victims: the start of public trials... of the regime's cronies and criminals, within the path of transitional justice."
Who is Atef Naguib?
Atef Naguib is a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, and he headed a number of branches of political security in Damascus and Tartous, before he was appointed head of the political security branch in Daraa, before the outbreak of the revolution.
In 2011, Atef Najib's name was linked to the arrest of a group of children in Daraa for writing graffiti about Bashar al-Assad, noting that change is also coming to Syria.
After the arrest of the children, Daraa notables demanded their release, but Atef Najib met them with insults, violations, threats, and violation of their dignity and symptoms.
It is noteworthy that Atef Naguib has been on the US sanctions list since April 29, 2011, and on the European sanctions lists since May 9, 2011.