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Damascus Criminal Court Sentences Atif Najib to Death for Crimes During 2011 Protests
The Damascus Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced Atif Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa governorate, to death.
Atif Najib, a cousin of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is one of the prominent security figures associated with the start of the 2011 protests. He was serving as head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa when the protests broke out.
Last week, the public prosecutor asked to convict Najib and other accused fugitives named in the case on charges including murder, torture, arbitrary detention, and squandering public funds, urging that they receive the maximum penalties provided by law—death.
The prosecution also sought convictions on counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including systematic torture and repeated deprivation of liberty, in addition to charges of intentional killing, killing associated with torture, incitement to kill, and torture leading to death. The prosecutors called for the defendants to be sentenced to death by hanging and ordered to pay civil compensation for material and moral damages to the plaintiffs who filed personal claims.
