Bashar al-Assad to Sheikh Hasina: Heads of state who got death sentences
Several others have received death sentences after being ousted from power. Here are a few of them.
On Tuesday, a Syrian court sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, according to AFP. The court found Assad guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Syrian civil war. Following his conviction, Assad fled to Moscow with his family as Islamist-led forces approached Damascus. Previously, several ousted heads of state have been sentenced to death either in person or in absentia.
Saddam Hussein was executed in Iraq in 2006 for war crimes during the 1982 Dujail massacre. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, ousted from Pakistan in 1977, received a death sentence in 1979 which was later commuted to life imprisonment. South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan received a death sentence in 1996 for mutiny and treason, which was later pardoned.
Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's ousted leader, was also sentenced to death in absentia by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal in 2025 over alleged crimes against humanity during student protests in 2024. Hasina sought refuge in India after being ousted and has since resided in New Delhi, expressing her intention to return to Bangladesh in December.
She has been informed that she would face arrest upon her arrival in Bangladesh. Romanian former leader Nicolae Ceaușescu was sentenced to death by a special military tribunal in 1989 for genocide and economic subversion. After his execution, Ceaușescu was executed by firing squad.
Written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times - World News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
