Ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death in absentia
A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former ruler Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, after convicting him over charges of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” during the country’s civil war. The ruling against Assad, who fled with his family to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus in December 2024, is the first under the transitional authorities who this year began trying figures from…
A Syrian court sentenced former president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday, convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country's civil war. The ruling, the first under transitional authorities, marks a turning point in the legal proceedings against figures from the former government. Assad, who became president in 2000 following his father Hafez's death, fled to Moscow in December 2024.
The court also sentenced Atif Najib, an Assad-era official and cousin of Bashar, to death for "crimes against humanity" committed during his tenure as head of political security in Daraa province, where the uprising began in 2011. Najib was arrested in January and convicted of murder, intentional killing of children under 15, and torture leading to death.
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