Video shows ex-top officials including former mufti and intelligence chief facing charges of murder and torture under post-Assad government
Syria’s Justice Ministry released video footage Thursday of ongoing investigations into several prominent figures from the deposed Bashar al-Assad regime showing them confronted with charges linked to years of civilian abuses.
The video, published under the title “Judicial investigations with detainees who were once decision-makers under the defunct regime,” shows several former senior officials appearing before an investigative judge.
Among those featured in the footage are former Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, who served from 2005-2021, former Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar (2011–2018) and former head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate Ibrahim al-Huweija (1987-2002).
Also shown is Atef Najib, a cousin of Assad and the former head of the Political Security Branch in the southern province of Daraa.
Najib is accused of being one of the first to carry out violations against civilians at the onset of the 2011 uprising. He is also blamed for the arrest and torture of children in Daraa who had written anti-regime slogans on walls, an incident that sparked initial protests in Syria.
The judge is seen formally presenting the charges, which include premeditated murder, torture resulting in death, incitement to civil war and complicity in extrajudicial killings.
The investigation is part of a broader effort by Syria’s new administration to restore internal security and hold accountable key officials from the former regime who were implicated in widespread human rights violations over a 14-year period.
Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.
A new transitional administration led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa was formed in January.
