Syria’s General Security Directorate announced the arrest of Atef Najib, a former senior security officer and cousin of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, in the coastal province of Latakia, a figure notorious for the brutal crackdown on Daraa province, which saw children tortured and murdered by regime officials.
Najib, who had long been a key figure in the regime’s violent crackdown on dissent, is accused of committing grave human rights abuses, including the torture of children during the early days of Syria’s revolution.
He served as the head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, one of the hotbeds of the revolution, until 2011, and played a notorious role in the repression of protests against the Assad regime.
Child torture accusations
His involvement is most prominently remembered for the arrest and brutal treatment of children in Daraa in February 2011, after they wrote anti-regime slogans on school walls. This incident became one of the earliest sparks of the Syrian uprising, which quickly spread across the country.
On 27 February 2011, the Political Security Branch, under Najib’s leadership, detained 18 students from the al-Arbaeen Primary School in Daraa.
The children had written slogans like “the people want the downfall of the regime” and “doctor, your turn is coming”.
When local leaders and families demanded their release, Najib famously dismissed their pleas by claiming: “Forget your children, go have others, and if you can’t, send your women to us, and we’ll do it for you.”
This insult, alongside the subsequent violent crackdown on protesters, led to widespread demonstrations in Daraa and other cities, marking the beginning of the Syrian revolution.
The regime’s brutal response, including the use of live ammunition against unarmed protesters, only fuelled public outrage, and the protests escalated into a full-scale uprising.
Najib’s role in these events led to his eventual dismissal by the Assad regime in March 2011, but by then, the protests had already transformed into an armed uprising.
In response to the violence, the United States imposed sanctions on key Assad regime figures, including Najib, in April 2011, banning any dealings with him.
In that month, 13-year-old boy Hamza Al-Khatib was detained and tortured to death by regime security in Daraa, intensifying anger in Syria against Bashar Al-Assad’s rule.
After his dismissal, Najib disappeared from public view, maintaining a low profile as the war in Syria continued.
