Syria Sentences Bashar al-Assad to Death Over War Crimes

DAMASCUS, Syria —

A Syrian court sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad to death on Tuesday, convicting him in absentia of murder, torture and crimes against humanity committed during the country's nearly 14-year civil war, according to Al Jazeera and Channel NewsAsia.

The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus also sentenced Assad's younger brother, Maher al-Assad, to death in absentia, and handed the same sentence to his cousin, Atef Najib, a former security official, Al Jazeera reported. Najib was the only one of the three in the courtroom. He appeared in a cage wearing a prisoner's uniform as the sentence was read, according to Euronews and France 24.

It was the first conviction of Assad since he was toppled in December 2024 by a rebel offensive that ended more than five decades of his family's rule, Channel NewsAsia reported. Assad fled to Moscow as opposition fighters closed in on Damascus and is expected to fight any attempt by Syria's new government to extradite him, ABC Australia reported.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan told the court that witness testimony showed Assad was "the highest decision-maker" behind the killings and had used the machinery of the Syrian state to carry them out, according to Al Jazeera. The judge convicted Assad of premeditated murder, the killing of children under 15, torture and arbitrary detention, crimes the court classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes, France 24 reported.

Najib led a 2011 crackdown on protesters in the southern province of Daraa that touched off the uprising against Assad and, eventually, the civil war, according to Al Jazeera and France 24. That uprising began after security forces arrested 15 students accused of writing anti-government graffiti. Residents said the students were tortured, which set off protests that the government met with gunfire, France 24 reported. The judge said Najib denied the charges against him and showed "no remorse."

A war that killed hundreds of thousands

The court also sentenced six other former military and security officials to death in absentia, including former Defense Minister Fahd al-Freij and Louay al-Ali, who led military intelligence in Daraa in 2011, France 24 reported. Syria's civil war killed roughly half a million people and displaced millions more, according to France 24.

A crowd gathered outside the courthouse holding photographs of torture and killing victims, Al Jazeera reported. Al Jazeera's correspondent in Damascus, Obaida Hitto, said the ruling would bring "a lot of relief to the Syrian people" and would set a legal precedent for prosecuting other former officials.

Assad's fate in Moscow

Syria's government has repeatedly asked Russia to extradite Assad, who has been granted asylum there, but Moscow has refused, Al Jazeera reported. Hitto said Russia is unlikely to reverse course barring a major political shift between the two countries, though he said other Assad-era officials living in Lebanon could potentially be sent back to face trial.

Assad took power in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, according to Channel NewsAsia and France 24.