Syrian court convicts Bashar al-Assad of war crimes, sentencing him to death

Damascus, Syria - A Syrian court handed down a death sentence on Tuesday to former ruler Bashar al-Assad, convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country's 14-year civil war. This marks the first such ruling under Syria's interim leadership, which took power in December 2024 with the goal of bringing justice and accountability for atrocities committed under Assad's rule.

Assad fled to Moscow after government forces advanced on Damascus in a swift military campaign. Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan found Assad guilty of numerous offenses, including premeditated murder, intentional killings of children under 15, torture leading to death, and arbitrary detention, all of which were classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Syria launched investigations against Assad and other officials, both present and absent, in April, following the onset of the civil war sparked by the government's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Over half a million people lost their lives, and millions were displaced, while thousands were detained, many of them in the country's authoritarian prison system.

The court also sentenced six other former military and security officials to death in absentia, including Assad's brother Maher, who commanded the army's elite Fourth Division, and former defense minister Fahd al-Freij, as well as Louay al-Ali, who oversaw military intelligence in Daraa province during the 2011 uprising. Among those convicted was former security official Atif Najib, who was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed as head of political security in Daraa, the birthplace of the uprising.

Najib, a cousin of Assad, was arrested in January and accused of ordering the torture and killing of civilians. The court's decision is the harshest punishment it could impose, the death penalty.