Inside the Trial of Atef Najib et al. #1: What Goes Up Must Come Down
TRIAL OF ATEF NAJIB ET AL.
The Fourth Criminal Court – Damascus, Syria
Trial Monitoring Summary #1
Hearing Date: April 26, 2026
CAUTION: Some testimony may include graphic descriptions of torture, rape or other violent acts.
Note that this summary is not a verbatim transcript of the trial; it is merely an unofficial summary of the proceedings.
Throughout this summary, [information located in brackets are notes from our trial monitor] and “information placed in quotes are statements made by the witness, Judges or counsel.” The names and identifying information of witnesses have been redacted.
[Note: SJAC provides a summary of the proceedings while redacting certain details to protect witness privacy and to preserve the integrity of the trial.]
SJAC’s 1st trial monitoring report details the first day of the trial of Atef Najib et al. In Damascus, Syria. This trial day marked the opening session of the trial that was conducted publicly for Atef Najib and in absentia for others, which was attended by many Plaintiffs in the case.
Read an intro to this trial here.
Day 4 – April 26, 2026
[The session was marked by extensive media coverage, attended by numerous local and Arab media outlets, as well as several Arab and international organizations.]
The proceedings began at 11:00 AM in The Fourth Criminal Court – Damascus, Syria. The case is being tried by three judges, including Presiding Judge Fakhruddin Al-Aryan, under Case No. 1 [Note: In Syria, each case has a file number. This case’s number was marked as 1 since it is the first case tried in this Court ensuing the fall of the Assad regime.]
The trial was conducted in person for the Accused Atef Najib, and in absentia for the remaining Accused, whose names were called in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure as follows:
- The Accused Bashar Hafez Al-Assad
- The Accused Atef Najib Najib
- The Accused Maher Hafez Al-Assad
- The Accused Fahd Jasem Al-Fraij
- The Accused Mohammad Ayman Ayyoush
- The Accused Lo’ay Ali Al-Ali
- The Accused Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub
- The Accused Wafiq Saleh Naser
- The Accused Talal Fares Al-Usaymi
The Accused Atef Najib Najib appeared in person and uncuffed. Upon questioning by the Court regarding his full name and the official positions he held under former regime, the Accused replied that his name is Atef Najib Najib, his mother’s name is [redacted name], born in Jableh in 1960, Civil Registry No. [redacted information], and resident of Damascus. He further testified that he served as an officer in the Political Security Branch and subsequently held the position of Head of the Political Security Branch in Dar’a until March 23, 2013.
Defense Counsel C1 [redacted name] appeared as legal representative for the Accused, pursuant to the Power of Attorney issued by the Bar Association – [redacted location] branch, dated July 30, 2025.
Thereafter, the Court called upon the Plaintiffs present in the courtroom by name [Note: Some names were inaudible; SJAC subsequently verified certain names], as follows:
[Note: Names of 49 Plaintiffs were called in court. The names were redacted]
Upon verifying the attendance of the Plaintiffs, the Court clarified that this session was a preliminary pre-trial hearing, not the commencement of the formal questioning of the Accused. The Court further noted that an agreement had been reached with the Bar Association to assign ad hoc court-appointed Defense Counsel team to represent the Accused.
Furthermore, the Court addressed the status of the Plaintiffs and witnesses regarding media exposure during the public trial. Opinions were divided into two groups: those who declined to appear on camera out of concern for their personal safety, and those who expressed no objection to appearing during the proceedings.
The proceedings were adjourned at 12:30PM.
The next trial day will be on May 10, 2026, at 10AM.
___________________________
For more information or to provide feedback, please contact SJAC at [email protected] and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to SJAC’s newsletter for updates on our work