He is accused of overseeing the violent suppression of protests during the 2011 uprising, and also faces charges of war crimes and crimes against the Syrian people, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA. Najib, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, was the only defendant present at the preliminary hearing. The trial will continue next month. Former President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and other senior security officials have been charged in absentia. They are accused of murder, torture, extortion, and drug trafficking. Large crowds gathered outside the court in Damascus to celebrate the start of the trial, while families of victims, including those from Daraa, attended the hearing. A spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Justice stated that the public trial is important for transparency and strengthening judicial independence in the transitional justice process. At the start of the protests in 2011, Najib was in charge of political security in Daraa, where teenagers were arrested and tortured after painting anti-government graffiti. That incident sparked mass protests, which escalated into a civil war. The war lasted 14 years and ended with the overthrow of Assad in December 2024 during a rebel offensive. Assad then fled to Russia, along with most of his inner circle. The interim government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa has faced criticism for the slow implementation of transitional justice. Last week, former intelligence officer Amjad Youssef was arrested, suspected of involvement in the 2013 Tadamon massacre in Damascus, in which at least 41 people were killed. His name has been linked to a 2022 video showing the killing of civilians in detention.