Atef Najib, the defendant who headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa governorate (southern Syria) at the start of the Syrian revolution, denied all charges against him of committing violations against people from the governorate.

Najib denied, according to video footage from the proceedings of the second session of his trial, shown by the Syrian Justice Ministry on Saturday, May 16, that his branch carried out any arrests of the children who wrote political slogans opposing the Assad regime on the walls of a school in Daraa. He accused the Military Security Branch of carrying out the arrests.

He claimed that he mediated for their release after contacting the head of the Military Security Branch, at the request of Daraa cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Sayasneh, but that the head of Military Security told him the children had been transferred to the Palestine Branch.

Najib also accused the State Security Branch, Military Security, and the Air Force Intelligence Branch of confronting protesters with gunfire, which led to the killing of two people in the first demonstrations that broke out in Daraa at the beginning of the Syrian revolution.

Najib said he rejected requests from the head of the National Security Bureau at the time, Hisham Bakhtiar, to participate in suppressing the demonstrations.

Najib did not mention specific dates for these events, as he cited days such as Friday and Tuesday without giving a clear date, but he was speaking about the first days of the Syrian revolution in Daraa governorate in March 2011.

Najib also denied numerous charges directed at him by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, based on testimonies from Daraa residents who lived through those events or were detained in the Political Security Branch while Najib headed it.

He claimed he was innocent of arresting anyone or opening fire on protesters, saying he opposed the security approach to handling the demonstrations and sent statements to Damascus saying that the situation in Daraa was calm and did not require military or security solutions.

Regarding gunfire from locations near his branch toward protesters, Najib accused other branches, including Military Security and State Security, of carrying it out in order to implicate him in being behind the acts because of major sensitivities between the security branches at the time, according to him.

Defendant Najib explained that he headed the Political Security Branch for only a few days after the Syrian revolution began, as he was dismissed on March 22, 2011, and has not held any state position since that date.

He noted that his security branch did not have the authority to detain anyone for more than 24 hours without informing the Political Security Division in Damascus, adding that no detainee died in the branch during his time there, according to him.

Najib denied having any authority over the other security branches in Daraa because of his closeness to the head of the ousted regime, Bashar al-Assad.

Indictment Against Najib

The judge of the Fourth Criminal Court brought a list of charges linked to 2011 against Atef Najib, the cousin of Bashar al-Assad, head of the ousted regime.

The second session of Atef Najib’s trial was held in Damascus on May 10, amid judicial measures accompanied by wide public attention to the course of the trial.

The judge of the Fourth Criminal Court, Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, issued a decision to stop the live broadcast from inside the courtroom to media outlets because the pleadings and questions included documents, names of protected witnesses, and confidential information.

The judge asked media representatives to leave the courtroom, while the session would remain public “with those present” from the representatives of the claimants and the Public Prosecution.

The Justice Ministry’s media office is recording the proceedings, with the recordings to be made available later after being reviewed and after witness names and confidential material are removed.

The session included hearing testimonies from claimants and witnesses, in addition to questioning the defendant, as part of the second session of the ongoing trial.

During the session, the judge directed several charges at Najib, including suppressing peaceful protests in Daraa and causing detainees, including minors, to be subjected to physical torture, including the pulling out of fingernails, electric shocks, threats against their families, and the use of excessive force during arrests.

The charges also included using detention as a means of extortion, issuing direct orders for detention and torture in his capacity as the top official in charge of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, in addition to his responsibility for the al-Omari Mosque massacre.

The session addressed torture practices inside detention centers affiliated with Political Security in Daraa, while emphasizing his command responsibility for those violations.

The judge also presented the names of defendants absent from the session, led by Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad. Their absence was recorded, they were considered fugitives, and they are to be tried as fugitive defendants, with measures taken to strip them of civil rights and place their movable and immovable assets, wherever found, under state administration.