The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus issued a decision today, Sunday, May 10, stripping former regime head Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher of their civil rights.
The court also placed their movable and immovable assets, wherever found, under the administration of the Syrian government, in accordance with Article 322 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The court issued similar decisions against several other defendants, including Fahd al-Freij, Mohammad Ayoush, Louay al-Ali, Qusay Mihoub, Wafiq Nasser, and Talal al-Aisami.
The court judge, Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, decided to confirm the absence of the defendants named above, consider them fugitives, and try them as fugitive defendants absent from the first session, after they were called, and after their summonses and the deadline decisions issued against them were returned following due notification.
The Fourth Criminal Court held the second session of Atef Najib’s trial in Damascus, amid judicial procedures accompanied by broad public attention to the course of the trial.
During the trial, the court judge presented a list of charges linked to 2011 against Atef Najib, the cousin of the ousted regime head, Bashar al-Assad.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan issued a decision to halt the live broadcast from inside the courtroom for media outlets, because the pleadings and questions included documents, the names of protected witnesses, and confidential information.
The judge asked media representatives to leave the courtroom, while the session would remain public “for those present” from among the representatives of the plaintiffs and the Public Prosecution.
The Ministry of Justice’s media office is recording the proceedings of the session, with the recordings to be made available later after review and after the names of witnesses and confidential materials are removed.
The session included hearing the testimonies of plaintiffs 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 against Najib, including suppressing peaceful protests in Daraa (southern Syria), 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 arrest operations.
The charges also included using detention as a means of extortion, issuing direct orders for arrest and torture in his capacity as the first 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 stressing his command responsibility for those violations.
First Session
The first trial session of Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa (southern Syria), began on Sunday, April 26, at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, while the judge brought charges against several figures from the Assad regime, led by Bashar al-Assad, to be tried in absentia.
The Criminal Court opened its first session to examine the charges against Atef Najib, amid broad legal and media attention.
Before suspending the session, the court panel called for the second time the names of the defendants listed and recorded their absence in the session minutes.
The names included:
The head of the court panel confirmed that the notification warrants for the defendants had been “duly served” at their last place of residence, and that when they were called again, they did not appear.
Accordingly, the Fourth Criminal Court panel in Damascus decided to issue deadline decisions for the absent defendants and to notify them duly under the provisions of “Article 322” of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
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