Former Syrian Prez sentenced to death in absentia

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar Assad, his brother Maher Assad, and cousin Atef Najib to death in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Syria's 14-year conflict, which claimed around half a million lives. The verdict, delivered by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, marked the first time anyone from Assad's inner circle has faced such a sentence since the end of the Assad family's 5-decade rule 20 months ago.

Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan said Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. Najib, who was detained and among the highest-ranking security officials tried, stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner's uniform as the verdict was read. He can appeal the death sentence, according to the judge.

Najib was convicted of overseeing a crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that sparked the uprising and subsequent civil war. He was detained after the fall of the government in December 2024 and granted political asylum in Russia. The US Department of the Treasury sanctioned him in April 2011, and he was subsequently detained.

Najib's trial came as some of his victims attended the court hearing. Mouawiya Sayasneh, who was a teenager in 2011, said, "Today we reached a point where the blood was not wasted." Fifteen years later, he expressed happiness that Atef Najib received a death sentence. Another victim, Nayef Abazeid, who was detained at 13 in 2011, welcomed the verdict, hoping "our biggest happiness will be when Bashar Assad is executed."

Human Rights Watch, in a statement, opposed the death penalty in all cases, including this one, calling it cruel and irreversible, especially when a fair trial is not guaranteed. The organization noted that Najib has the right to appeal and that the process "needs to meet fair trial standards too." They emphasized that real accountability for Assad-era crimes depends on Syria building a lasting justice system.