Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death: How the Syrian civil war unfolded, and ended

Bashar al-Assad, the former president of Syria, has been sentenced to death in absentia for crimes committed during the 14-year civil war that ravaged his country. The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus found him guilty of premeditated murder, torture, and crimes against humanity. Assad's younger brother, Maher, and his maternal cousin, Atef Najib, have also been sentenced to death.

Najib, a former head of the Political Security Branch in the Daraa area under Assad's rule, was convicted of murder, intentional killing of children under 15, and torture leading to death. The court's ruling marks the first judicial action against key figures from the previous government, whose five decades in power ended less than two years ago.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011 during the Arab Spring, with protests against Assad's regime turning into an armed conflict. The conflict saw various factions fighting, including the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, the Iran-Iraq-Lebanon-backed groups supporting Assad, and the US and Turkey-backed anti-Assad forces. The war ended in December 2024 when rebel group Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Damascus.