Inside the Trial of Atef Najib et al. #7: Neither to These Nor to Those

TRIAL OF ATEF NAJIB ET AL. 

The Fourth Criminal Court – Damascus, Syria 

Trial Monitoring Summary #7 

Hearing Date: July 28, 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 7th trial monitoring report details day 7 of the trial of Atef Najib et al. in Damascus, Syria. On this trial day, a prosecution witness testified before the Court, dividing his statement into two distinct parts:

Pre-Revolution Period: The witness testified that he previously worked as a physician examining detainees at the Political Security Branch prior to the revolution. He further testified to observing bruises and signs of "ordinary torture," however, not electric shock, on some detainees.

Post-Revolution Events: The second part of his testimony addressed events following the outbreak of the revolution, including the attack on the Al-Omari Mosque and the shooting of protesters. The witness testified that he recorded no cases of death directly resulting from torture. However, he affirmed that there were cases of torture, having personally observed minor wound marks on several detainees.

Day 7 – July 28, 2026 

[Note: Media coverage was restricted to the media outlets of the Ministry of Justice only.]

The Accused, Atef Najib, was brought into the courtroom at 10:55AM. The Judges followed at 11:00AM, when the hearing of witnesses commenced. This constitutes the seventh session in Case No. (1) of 2026 against the Accused, Atef Najib.

The Accused Atef Najib appeared before the court, accompanied by his representative, Defense Counsel C1 [redacted name].

The Plaintiff party was present.

The in-person and in-absentia trial proceedings commenced publicly.

At the beginning of the session, Defense Counsel C1 requested approval to hear a witness via video call because he resides in [redacted location]. The Presiding Judge asked the Prosecutor whether he had any objection to hearing the testimony. The Prosecutor responded that he had no objection. Thereupon, the Court decided to grant the request and hear the witness via video call.

W27, [redacted name]

Upon the Presiding Judge’s request, the witness took the legal oath.

W27 stated his name and introduced himself as being from the [redacted location] area, born in [redacted time]. He stated that he is a defected officer and a physician residing in [redacted location]. He noted that his testimony centered on the period between March 18 and March 23, 2011.

The Presiding Judge wanted to know where W27's place of work in Dar’a was. W27 responded that he worked in the Medical Services Department in Dar’a.

W27 requested to divide his testimony into two parts: before and after the revolution. Then, he recounted that on May 29, 2009, he was at his job, affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, and his duty was health oversight at the Political Security Branch. In July 2009, he used to visit the Political Security Branch daily, where there was a detainee accused in a case involving [travel] buses. The detainee was ill and had a ureteral catheter placed. His health condition subsequently deteriorated severely until he required surgical intervention. The witness requested Captain Malek Hasan to transfer the detainee to the hospital due to the danger of his condition. However, the captain responded that he lacked the authority to do so and that approval had to be obtained from Brigadier General Atef Najib. Indeed, upon explaining the condition to Atef Najib, he agreed immediately and ordered — on his own responsibility — the transfer of the patient to the hospital in Dar’a.

The Presiding Judge wanted to know whether there were detainees subjected to severe torture in the Political Security Branch. The witness confirmed this, clarifying that there were detainees bearing marks of "ordinary torture" and bruises, nonetheless, there was no torture with electrical shocks.

W27 resumed his testimony, testifying that in early 2010, Atef Najib summoned him to the Central Prison to follow up on the health condition of the detainees. With the outbreak of the revolution, conditions were bad, and W27 had felt [morally] obligated to join them [i.e., the opposition]. The witness proceeded to the Dar’a National Hospital. There was a Warrant Officer 3rd Class serving at the hospital named Mohammad Taleb, along with personnel from Damascus. Two individuals were martyred [the answer was unclear. The audio was poor due to a weak internet connection].

Considering that W27 frequently visited the Political Security Branch, the Presiding Judge wanted to know whether W27 observed detained children there. The witness answered that he did not see any children at all, and that his duty was to treat the sick.

On March 18 or 19, 2011, the witness met with Atef Najib and asked him about the issue of the children. Atef Najib responded to W27 that the children were detained, and that Sheikh Ahmad As-Sayasneh intervened and told him that he would take care of the issue. Atef Najib replied [to the Sheikh], stating that the children were not present at his branch and that they were at the Military Security Branch.

At this point, W27 said that he would begin recounting the second part of his testimony. W27 then recalled that on March 18 or 19 [2011], he was at the Political Security Branch, and a demonstration was taking place at the Al-Omari Mosque. There was heavy gunfire. W27 tried to see what was happening in the west area at the gas station. On the southern side, there was a government complex next to a large hotel [which obstructed the witness's view]. Thus, W27 could not see what was occurring. There were personnel from the Political Security stationed on the roof carrying Kalashnikov rifles, and there were no snipers.

While W27 was on the roof of the Political Security Branch, Atef Najib came out of his office and instructed the forces to fall back. The forces were not opening fire.

The Presiding Judge wanted to know whether W27 observed signs of torture when he was in the medical department. W27 confirmed this, clarifying that detainees were brought to the Political Security Branch bearing marks of minor wounds.

The Presiding Judge asked W27 whether the Accused was supervising the torture during the detention. W27 responded that the Accused had no connection to that, as the interrogation personnel handled this matter.

The Presiding Judge inquired whether W27 had any additional statements to add at the conclusion of his testimony. The witness answered that on March 22, [2011], he went to Atef Najib's office and provided him with a medical report on the health status of the detainees, and Nasser Al-Ali was present in the office. On March 23 or 24, Atef Najib left the office in his BMW vehicle, and Naser Al-Ali took over in his place. W27 remained until April 3 or 4, 2013, in the Medical Services [Department]. During Naser Al-Ali's presence at the Political Security Branch, the incident of the army storming occurred, while the witness was in Damascus at the time. He later learned from Captain Malek Hasan that a detainee had died of a heart attack [in the Political Security Branch in Dar’a].

The Presiding Judge wanted to know whether Atef Najib frequented the branch during this period. W27 denied this, adding that Atef Najib's [face] was unknown to the public, as they only knew him by name.

The Prosecutor asked W27 whether he observed cases of death among the detainees at the Political Security Branch. The witness answered that the sole incident was the one concerning the detainee who died of a heart attack. He added that there were no deaths  resulting from torture.

The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W27. The Accused answered in the positive.

The Court decided to adjourn the session for requests, formal indictment, and defense presentation.

The proceedings were adjourned at 11:30AM.  

The next trial day will be on August 4, 2026, at 11AM.

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