Syrian court sentences Assad to death in absentia

A Syrian court has sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, convicting him of crimes tied to the crackdown that helped ignite Syria’s civil war and the years of violence that followed.

The Criminal Court in Damascus found Assad guilty of crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, premeditated murder and torture, according to the BBC and Al Jazeera. Assad fled Damascus for Moscow with his family after his government was overthrown in December 2024, ending his family’s five-decade hold on power.

The ruling is among the most prominent moves yet by Syria’s interim authorities against former officials from Assad’s government. The new leadership began trying figures associated with the former regime earlier this year, after forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa — now Syria’s president — swept to power in a rapid 11-day campaign.

In the same case, Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and the former head of political security in southern Deraa province, was also sentenced to death. He stood inside a cage in the courtroom wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence. The court convicted Najib of crimes including murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15” and “torture leading to death.”

Deraa is widely viewed as the birthplace of the uprising against Assad’s rule. In March 2011, the detention and alleged torture of teenagers accused of writing anti-government graffiti sparked protests in the city. Security forces responded with a violent crackdown, and the unrest spread into nationwide demonstrations that escalated into a civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

Al Jazeera reported that Assad’s younger brother, Maher al-Assad, who is also living in Russia, was sentenced to death in absentia for premeditated murder and torture. The BBC did not include Maher al-Assad among those sentenced in its report.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said witness testimony established Bashar al-Assad’s role in the crimes as “the highest decision-maker” and that he had used state institutions to help carry them out, Al Jazeera reported.

The verdict follows an arrest warrant issued against Assad last December on charges of murder and torture. It remains unclear whether Syria’s new authorities will be able to secure his extradition from Russia. Most senior figures from the former government, including Assad, remain beyond the reach of the new Syrian authorities in Russia, though the government has detained numerous former officials and security personnel.

Najib is one of the highest-ranking former officials to be put on trial. Al Jazeera reported that he was detained by Syrian authorities in January last year.

Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto, reporting from Damascus, said the ruling “is going to bring a lot of relief to the Syrian people” and contribute to their “healing process.” He added: “This is something they’ve waited for a long time. They want to see these people that tortured their children, displaced them from their homes and destroyed their communities be held to account for these crimes.”

Attempts by Syrian opposition figures to pursue Assad through courts in Western countries during the final years of his rule did not lead to any convictions, the BBC reported.