The death sentence handed down against Atef Najib has placed one of the most controversial figures from the early days of Syria’s uprising at the centre of a historic accountability process. Najib, a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad and former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, was sentenced to death alongside Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad in a Damascus court.
Najib’s importance in the case comes from his position in Daraa during the beginning of the 2011 uprising. Daraa became the birthplace of the Syrian protest movement after a group of teenagers was arrested following anti-government graffiti. Reports of their treatment and the security response triggered anger that quickly grew into broader demonstrations.
At the time, Najib was a senior security official in the province. The Political Security Branch was part of Syria’s powerful security apparatus, and Najib’s position placed him close to the mechanisms used to control political opposition and demonstrations.
The first public trial involving a senior Assad-era official opened in Damascus in April 2026. Najib appeared before the court in person, while several other defendants, including Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad, were absent. The proceedings represented an important change from the period when Syria’s security services operated with little prospect of domestic judicial accountability.
During earlier proceedings, Najib denied the allegations against him and reportedly sought to distance himself from responsibility for the shootings of protesters. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, he attributed the shooting to other security agencies.
The case was followed closely by families of victims from Daraa and human rights observers. Their presence in the courtroom gave the trial a significance beyond the individual defendant. For many families, the proceedings represented an opportunity to publicly confront a former official from the security system that they blame for years of repression.
The charges against Najib have included serious allegations involving murder and torture. Syrian state media reported that the Damascus court heard charges connected to crimes against civilians. The proceedings were also attended by representatives of transitional justice bodies and international legal and human rights observers.
The Daraa connection is particularly important because the protests there eventually became the opening chapter of a conflict that transformed Syria. What began as demonstrations demanding political change developed into an armed conflict involving the government, opposition groups, extremist organizations and foreign powers.
The consequences were enormous. Cities were destroyed, millions of Syrians became refugees or internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands died during the years of war.
For that reason, Najib’s case has been viewed as a possible test of Syria’s approach to transitional justice. The country faces the enormous task of dealing with crimes committed during the Assad era while also attempting to build functioning institutions after years of political and military upheaval.
Legal experts have nevertheless raised concerns about the procedures. The Syrian Network for Human Rights has pointed to questions involving the legal basis of the proceedings, the definition of crimes, individual responsibility and trials conducted in the absence of defendants.
The death sentence now places Najib’s case at an even more consequential stage. Unlike Assad and Maher, Najib was physically present before the court and has been detained by the Syrian authorities. He was arrested in Latakia in January 2026 after returning from Lebanon, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
The verdict is therefore about more than one former security official. It is part of Syria’s larger attempt to determine responsibility for the repression that preceded the civil war.
For survivors from Daraa, the court proceedings represent a moment that would have been difficult to imagine during Assad’s rule: a senior member of the former security establishment sitting inside a courtroom and answering to a national judicial process.
The Najib verdict could ultimately influence how Syria handles future cases involving former military commanders, intelligence officials and political leaders accused of abuses during the conflict.
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