A Syrian court has sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country’s civil war, the BBC reported. It is the first conviction against Assad, who fled to Moscow with his family after his regime was overthrown in December 2024, ending his family’s five-decade rule over Syria.
Assad’s cousin and former head of political security in Deraa province, Atef Najib, was also sentenced to death. He was convicted of crimes including murder, the intentional killing of children under 15 and torture leading to death.
Deraa is widely regarded as the birthplace of the 2011 uprising against Assad’s rule. The detention and torture of teenagers accused of writing anti-government graffiti there triggered protests that were violently suppressed, helping spark the nationwide uprising and subsequent civil war.
Six other former military and security officials, including Assad’s younger brother Maher al-Assad and former defence minister Fahd al-Freij, were also sentenced to death in absentia.
Nouha al-Masri, whose brother was killed during the 2011 crackdown in Deraa and who is a plaintiff in the case, told the BBC that the verdict reflected the sacrifices and suffering of victims. She called for further trials, saying: “In the new Syria, there will be no impunity from this day forward,” BBC reported.
However, it remains uncertain whether Syria’s new authorities can secure the extradition of Bashar and Maher al-Assad from Russia, where they have been living since the fall of the regime. The trial is part of efforts by Syria’s interim government to prosecute officials linked to the Assad regime, which ruled the country for more than 50 years.
