The first in absentia trial session of Syria’s ousted president Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and several former regime figures was held on Sunday in Damascus. Among the most prominent defendants was former security official Atef Najib, who appeared in person before the court.
A judicial source told Agence France-Presse (AFP), speaking anonymously, that “the first session of transitional justice begins with preparations for the in absentia trial of the criminal Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher, in addition to the in-person trial of several security and military officials, foremost among them the criminal Atef Najib,” who was arrested in January 2025.
Najib appeared in the courtroom in Damascus handcuffed. He is a relative of Bashar al-Assad and previously served as head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, southern Syria, where the first spark of the 2011 popular protests began. He is considered responsible for a broad campaign of repression and arrests in the province.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan of the Criminal Court opened the session by stating: “Today we begin the first trials of transitional justice in Syria… including a defendant who has been arrested and is present in the dock, as well as defendants fleeing justice.”
He then read out the names of other key figures from the former ruling era, led by Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad, who will be tried “in absentia.”
The judge did not question Atef Najib during this session, explaining that it was dedicated to “administrative and legal procedures related to preparations,” and announced that the second trial session would be held on May 10.
The judicial source also confirmed that in-person trials will include Wassim al-Assad, one of the former president’s relatives, former Grand Mufti Badr al-Din Hassoun, and other military and security officials arrested by the new authorities over the past months. They will face charges related to atrocities committed against Syrians.
Under the Syrian Code of Criminal Procedure, in absentia proceedings allow the Criminal Court to pursue defendants who are not detained or who have fled, after formally notifying them and granting them the legal period to appear. If they fail to do so, the court may proceed with examining the charges and personal compensation claims and may issue a verdict in absentia at the end of the process.
The fate of tens of thousands of missing persons and detainees in Syria, along with mass graves believed to contain prisoners who died under torture during the former regime, remains one of the most tragic aspects of the Syrian conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than half a million people.
AFP
