Syria's al-Assad sentenced to death in absentia
A Syrian court has sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad to death after a trial in absentia, convicting him of crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country's nearly 14-year war.
A Syrian court has sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, convicting him of numerous war crimes. These crimes include premeditated murder, intentional killing of children, torture, arbitrary arrests, and crimes against humanity. The court handed down the harshest punishment, the death penalty, for these alleged offenses.
Assad's cousin, Atef Najib, a security official under Assad, was also sentenced to death for similar crimes. The court found Najib guilty of murder, intentional killing of children, and torture leading to death, which are considered crimes against humanity. Assad, who took power in 2000 following his father Hafez's death, ruled Syria with his Alawite sect, maintaining dominance over the predominantly Sunni Muslim nation. His regime faced a brutal civil war sparked by the 2011 Arab Spring protests demanding democracy.
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