Atef Najib, former head of political security in the Deraa province, is charged with ‘crimes against the Syrian people’. Syria has begun its first public trial of officials who served under longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, 15 years after the start of the civil war. Trial proceedings opened in Damascus on Sunday for Atef Najib, the former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Syria’s al-Sharaa visits Germany to talk reconstruction, return of refugees list 2 of 3 The Take: The US exit from Syria, explained list 3 of 3 Syria takes control of all bases where US forces were deployed end of list He is accused of overseeing a violent crackdown on protesters there during the 2011 uprising, and faces charges related to “crimes against the Syrian people”, according to Syria’s state-run news agency, SANA. Najib, who is a cousin of al-Assad, was the sole defendant in court for Sunday’s preparatory session of the trial set to continue next month.…