Former Syrian President Assad sentenced to death in absentia

A Syrian tribunal sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad on with his younger member to decease successful absentia connected Tuesday for crimes against humanity and warfare crimes during Syria’s 14-year struggle that near astir fractional a cardinal radical dead.

The sentences astatine the Fourth Criminal Court successful Damascus are the archetypal against Assad oregon members of his interior ellipse since the Assad family's 5 decades successful powerfulness came to an extremity 20 months ago.

"Bashar Assad utilized authorities agencies to perpetrate warfare crimes and crimes against humanity," said justice Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a tribunal league that was aired unrecorded connected authorities TV.

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In this Dec. 9, 2010 record photo, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives astatine the Elysee Palace successful Paris for his gathering with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

Also sentenced to decease successful the aforesaid lawsuit was Assad’s maternal relative Atef Najib, who was convicted of overseeing a crackdown successful the confederate state of Daraa that led to the uprising and aboriginal the civilian war.

Amid choky security, Najib stood wrong a cage wearing a prisoner’s azygous arsenic the justice work the sentence. A assemblage of radical gathered extracurricular the courthouse successful cardinal Damascus to perceive the verdict.

Assad and his member Maher fled to Russia aft the government's autumn successful December 2024 and received governmental asylum. Syria's caller rulers person asked Russia to manus the Assads over.

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Oct. 6: Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, stands adjacent to Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Dawoud Rajha, right, and Chief of Staff Gen. Fahed al-Jasem el-Freij, left, during a ceremonial to people the 38th day of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, successful Damascus, Syria.

Najib, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury successful April 2011, was aboriginal detained and is 1 of the highest-ranking officials to beryllium enactment connected trial.

Najib is simply a erstwhile Syrian service brigadier wide who was caput of the Political Security Branch successful confederate Syria’s Daraa state nether Assad successful 2011.

During his tenure, much than a twelve teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti connected a schoolhouse partition successful Daraa were arrested and tortured. The lawsuit became a catalyst for wide protests against the repressive policies of Assad’s information forces.

Syrian soldiers assemble adjacent Sweida connected July 15, 2025, arsenic achromatic fume rises pursuing deadly sectarian clashes successful the confederate province. (Stringer/Getty Images)

The protests were met by a brutal authorities crackdown and spiraled into a 14-year civilian warfare that ended with Assad’s ouster successful a lightning rebel offensive.

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Maher Assad was a erstwhile commandant of the Syrian military’s 4th Armored Division — which Syrian absorption activists person accused of killings, torture, extortion and cause trafficking, successful summation to moving its ain detention centers.