The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) released an analytical legal report in May 2026 examining the trial of Brigadier General Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security. Branch in Daraa. The trial is the first national criminal proceeding in post-regime Syria against a senior Assad security figure. SNHR\u2019s report highlights several legal and procedural loopholes in the case.<\/p>\n
Legislative gaps \u2013 no war crimes or crimes against humanity in Syrian law<\/p>\n
The Syrian Penal Code does not define war crimes or crimes against humanity as independent legal categories. Conduct attributed to Najib \u2014 systematic killing, torture, arbitrary detention, and persecution of civilians \u2014 fits Article 7 of the Rome Statute for crimes against humanity. But charges will likely be filed under ordinary criminal provisions like murder, torture, and abuse of authority.<\/p>\n
SNHR says this is \u201cnot a matter of judicial discretion, but rather a direct consequence of the absence of legislative text.\u201d Any judgment \u201cwill be unable to reflect the systematic and widespread nature of the crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Problems with legal characterization of crimes<\/p>\n
Najib was indicted for war crimes, but legal observers noted the Syrian conflict wasn\u2019t labeled as an \u201carmed conflict\u201d until 2012, after Najib\u2019s tenure as head of political security in Daraa ended. Enforced disappearance and persecution were omitted from the indictment, though observers said \u201cthat doesn\u2019t mean they are errors that cannot be rectified\u201d.<\/p>\n
Theoretical basis of individual responsibility<\/p>\n
SNHR\u2019s report says the trial reveals loopholes in \u201cthe theoretical basis of individual responsibility\u201d. Najib held \u201cdirect and joint leadership responsibility for systematic acts that targeted civilians including killing, torture and arbitrary detention\u201d. But without command responsibility or joint criminal enterprise doctrines codified in Syrian law, linking senior officials to systematic crimes is harder.<\/p>\n
Trial guarantees and procedural issues<\/p>\n
In-absentia proceedings: 8 other defendants, including Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad, are being tried in absentia. The court declared them fugitives and placed assets under state administration per Article 322 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. SNHR flags loopholes in \u201cprocedural guarantees of the in-absentia trial\u201d. Human Rights Watch and legal experts argued the trial is \u201cpremature\u201d because Syria lacks a transitional justice legal framework. Joumana Seif, former member of Syria\u2019s National Commission for Transitional Justice, said trials should have been postponed until the People\u2019s Assembly issued a law establishing \u201ca clear legal framework\u2026 that establishes a solid foundation for all future trials\u201d.<\/p>\n
Harmonization with international law<\/p>\n
Lawyers noted it\u2019s harder to try perpetrators based on treaties rather than domestic law. Seif said harmonizing Syrian laws is \u201cthe ideal situation\u201d because judges applying Syrian law is \u201ccertainly easier than going back to check this or that treaty\u201d.<\/p>\n
On 10 May 2026, Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan read charges that Najib oversaw \u201cexcessive use of force\u201d against peaceful protesters in Daraa in early 2011. Allegations include arrest\/torture of children for \u201cpolitical writings on walls,\u201d suppressing protests with \u201cexcessive force,\u201d firing on a sit-in at Daraa\u2019s Al-Omari mosque, and \u201ctorture leading to death\u201d in detention centers.First session: Held 26 April 2026 in Damascus Fourth Criminal Court. Najib appeared in person. 50 plaintiffs were registered as civil parties.<\/p>\n
SNHR\u2019s broader work also notes systemic flaws in Syrian justice, lack of judicial warrants, fair trial violations, and laws granting immunity to security services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) released an analytical legal report in May 2026 examining the trial of Brigadier General Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security. Branch in Daraa. The trial is the first national criminal proceeding in post-regime Syria against a senior Assad security figure. SNHR\u2019s report highlights several legal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-49227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-23"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49227"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49228,"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49227\/revisions\/49228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.snhr.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}