Khaberni - The first public session of the trial of the accused Waseem al-Assad, cousin of Bashar al-Assad, was launched in Damascus, where the judge read the indictment list to the accused, and the Public Prosecutor's Office also directed the charges at him.
The first and public session of the trial of the accused Waseem al-Assad was witnessed by the Justice Palace in Damascus.
The Syrian News Channel mentioned that the judge of the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus is "reading the indictment list to the accused Waseem al-Assad", while the Public Prosecutor's Office directed the charges to the accused in the public court session.
Shortly after the trial began, the Syrian Ministry of Justice announced the suspension of the live broadcast of the trial as part of witness protection program procedures, with the continuation of the trial session and the completion of all judicial procedures as usual without broadcasting them on air to preserve the confidentiality of testimonies and the safety of case participants.
Earlier, the Ministry of Justice released a video showing the interrogation of the accused Waseem al-Assad by the seventh investigation judge, Tawfiq al-Ali, where several charges were directed against him for crimes including: forming criminal combat groups affiliated with the Fourth Division in 2012, overseeing the funding of the groups with weapons and money, coordinating with the brigadier in the former regime's army, Ghayath Dallah, and arming the members of auxiliary militias in the Maliha area of Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, as well as crimes of intimidation, causing fear, and causing the deaths of civilians in Jaramana in 2012.
The charges against Waseem al-Assad included: "searching the soldiers and moving them within military units, accepting bribes before and after the revolution, and establishing a strong relationship with the recently arrested Lebanese drug dealer, Noah Zaiter".
The Syrian Internal Security Forces managed on the twenty-first of June last year to arrest Waseem al-Assad in a tight security operation on the Syrian-Lebanese border.
