Najib was the head of political security in Daraa in southern Syria, under Assad’s regime. Syria’s nationwide uprising was sparked by the arrest and torture of children in Daraa, whom, the Observatory said had been arrested for "writing sentences criticizing the regime on their school walls."

Syrian authorities have arrested a former senior security officer and cousin of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad credited by some with sparking the country's 2011 uprising due to a crackdown on protests in the southern city of Daraa,