Syria04 August, 20263 min read
Damascus Fourth Criminal Court Refers Atef Najib Case for Verdict on August 11
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Prosecution seeks the death penalty for Atef Najib. Verdict scheduled for August 11 after the eighth trial session.
Verdict Set for August 11
A Fourth Criminal Court at the Justice Palace in Damascus referred the case file of Atef Najib for review and verdict on Tuesday after the conclusion of the eighth hearing in his trial, and it set the next hearing for Tuesday, August 11. The court heard statements from the Public Prosecution, the civil plaintiffs’ team and the defense, and it was chaired by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan with advisers Abdul Hamid al-Hamoud and Hossam Abdul Rahman serving on the panel. During the hearing, the Public Prosecution requested the conviction of Atef Najib and other defendants listed in the case file, including Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad, on charges of murder, torture, arbitrary detention and misappropriation of public funds.
The civil plaintiffs’ team asked for convictions for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including systematic torture and repeated deprivation of liberty, and it requested a death sentence by hanging as part of the most severe criminal penalties stipulated under Syrian law. The defense submitted a 12-page written memorandum requesting the precise application of the law, and the court adjourned unanimously until Tuesday, August 11 to complete judicial procedures.
Prosecution Seeks Death
Euronews said the Syrian Public Prosecution requested that the death penalty be carried out against Atif Najib, the former head of the Political Security Directorate in Daraa, during the eighth session of his trial before the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus. In the same proceedings described by Al-Jazeera Net, the Public Prosecution called for the death penalty against the defendant Atef Najeeb during the eighth session held today, Tuesday, at the Fourth Criminal Court in the capital, Damascus, before the court adjourned and postponed the session to August 11. Euronews also said the court decided to rise and adjourn to August 11 to complete the procedures and investigations and render a verdict, while trials overseen by the National Commission for Transitional Justice to pursue officials of the ousted regime continued.
Al-Jazeera Net reported that the closed session was presided over by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Arian, with the attendance of members of the National Commission for Transitional Justice and representatives of international legal and humanitarian organizations. Both accounts tied the trial timeline to earlier evidentiary steps, with Euronews noting the previous session on July 28 heard the testimony of one witness at the request of the defense team.
Charges and Transitional Justice
The trial proceedings described by SANA said Atef Najib, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad and head of the ousted regime’s Political Security Branch in Daraa Governorate, faced charges including killing, torture and arbitrary detention, participation in suppressing peaceful protests using live ammunition, and direct responsibility for the Al-Omari Mosque massacre. SANA also said the allegations included systematic mass killings and torture of detainees resulting in death inside detention centers, and it stated that the first hearing of Najib’s trial was held on April 26 as part of judicial proceedings aimed at uncovering the truth. عنب بلدي | West Asian reported that Najib reiterated in court the account of what happened between February 16 and 17, 2011, when children were arrested by elements from the Political Security Directorate in Daraa for writing on a school wall the phrase that indicated that change was coming to Syria as well, your turn is coming, doctor.
In that same account, the National Authority for Transitional Justice’s Accountability and Reconciliation Department said Syria was witnessing for the first time in its history a trial characterized by integrity, transparency, and openness, and that it follows international and local legal standards in achieving justice and upholding the rule of law. The court’s next step is to deliver a verdict after the adjournment to Tuesday, August 11, with the case file having been referred for review and verdict following the eighth hearing.