Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes

A Syrian court in Damascus sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan convicted Assad of premeditated murder, intentional killings of multiple people, the killing of children under 15, torture, torture leading to death, and repeated deprivation of liberty. The ruling marked the first such verdict under Syria’s transitional government, which ousted Assad in December 2024 after Islamist-led forces seized Damascus in a rapid offensive. Assad fled to Moscow as his regime collapsed.
The court also sentenced six former military and security officials in absentia to death, including Assad’s brother Maher, who commanded the army’s elite Fourth Division. Others convicted were former Defense Minister Fahd al-Freij and Louay al-Ali, the former head of military intelligence in Daraa province. All were found guilty of murder, incitement to murder, torture leading to death, and deprivation of liberty, classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and the only defendant present in court, was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed while he led political security in Daraa, the epicenter of Syria’s 2011 uprising. Najib, arrested in January 2025, was convicted of murder, intentional killing of children under 15, and torture leading to death. The judge described the acts as crimes against humanity and imposed “the harshest punishment against him, which is the death penalty.”
Syria initiated proceedings in April against Assad and other officials for atrocities during the civil war, which began with the brutal suppression of pro-democracy protests. The conflict killed over 500,000 people, displaced millions, and left tens of thousands missing, many in the country’s prison system.
The trial and sentencing follow the transitional leadership’s pledge to deliver justice and accountability for crimes under Assad’s rule. The former president, his brother, and other convicted officials remain outside Syria, with Assad in Russia.
Follow us for live European news
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
4 further sources not geolocated












