Bürgerkrieg: Syriens Ex-Präsident Assad in Abwesenheit zum Tode verurteilt

A former Syrian president, Bashir al-Assad, has been sentenced to death in absentia by a Syrian court. He faces charges of intentional murder, torture, arbitrary detention, and crimes against humanity. Currently residing in Russia, Assad has thus far avoided extradition. The verdict, read out in Damascus' state television, also convicted Assad's maternal cousin, Atef Nadschib, who was present in court and appeared in a prison uniform in a cage.

Nadschib was accused of systemic mass murder and arbitrary arrests during his tenure as security chief in Daraa, where the uprising against Assad began in 2011. Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after government forces entered Damascus in December 2024. Other key figures of the ousted regime, including Assad's brother Mahir al-Assad, were also sentenced to death for intentional murder, torture, and death by torture.

Jubilation erupted outside the courthouse as news of the verdict reached the crowd, some holding pictures of individuals implicated in Nadschib's accusations. The trials are part of a series targeting prominent figures of the former Assad regime. As of now, the execution of their sentences appears unlikely. Should they be apprehended or extradited, their fate awaits them in Damascus, likely in prison or a new trial.