Khaberni - The Syrian judicial authorities will start tomorrow, Sunday, the first sessions of the trial of prominent figures from the previous regime era, according to a source in the Ministry of Justice to the "France Press" agency.
The source at the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the judiciary will begin on Sunday to look into the cases filed against symbols of the previous regime, explaining that "the first session will be dedicated to the trial of Atef Najib", who was arrested in January 2025.
Najib, a cousin of the former President Bashar al-Assad and previously the head of the Political Security branch in Daraa governorate during the outbreak of popular protests in 2011, is considered responsible for a wide campaign of repression and arrests and is attributed with committing gross violations against children who demanded freedom at the beginning of the Syrian revolution.
The source revealed that the trial schedule will sequentially include Waseem al-Assad, a relative of the ousted president, in addition to a number of pilots accused of participating in the bombing of Syrian cities and towns during the years of conflict.
The list will also include Amjad Youssef, who was arrested by the authorities yesterday, Friday, and is the main accused of committing the "Tadamon neighborhood massacre" in Damascus in 2013, which resulted in the death of dozens of civilians.
The new administration that came to power in December 2024 announces from time to time the arrest of military and security officials from the Assad era, involved in committing atrocities and crimes against Syrians during the years of conflict.
The fate of tens of thousands of missing and detained in Syria, and the mass graves that are believed to have been used by the previous regime to bury detainees who died under torture, is one of the most prominent aspects of the Syrian tragedy after the end of the conflict.
The Syrian Minister of Justice, Mazhar al-Wais, wrote yesterday, Friday, in a post on "X" that the Criminal Court in Damascus "is preparing for the moment long awaited by the victims: the start of public trials... of the former regime's operatives and criminals, within the transitional justice process".
Activists, human rights organizations, and the international community emphasize the importance of achieving transitional justice in Syria after years of prolonged war.
The protests against Assad erupted in Daraa in southern Syria on March 15, 2011, after children who wrote anti-Assad slogans on the walls of their school at the time were arrested and tortured by security forces.
Following the outbreak of the protests, Atef Najib, who was held responsible for the repression campaign in Daraa, was removed from his position.
In April 2011, the United States included him on the sanctions list based on "human rights violations".
Waseem al-Assad, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, was arrested in June 2025, and is one of the key suspects involved in drug trafficking in the previous regime.
In 2023, the US Treasury imposed sanctions against him, saying he led a paramilitary unit and was a "pivotal figure" in a regional network for drug smuggling, supported by the previous rule.
