Syrian Court Sentences Former President Bashar al-Assad to Death for War Crimes

A Syrian court sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death on Tuesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 13-year civil war that began in 2011. The verdict was issued in absentia as Assad currently resides in Russia, where he has political asylum under President Vladimir Putin's government. Alongside Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, commander of the elite 4th Division accused of numerous atrocities, was also sentenced to death. Maher fled Syria amid the regime's collapse and is unlikely to be brought to justice soon.

At the same hearing, Atef Najib, Assad's cousin and former head of political security in Daraa province, where the uprising began, was present and sentenced to death. Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general, was heavily involved in the brutal suppression of the initial protests. He was brought to court under heavy security and heard the judge read his sentence.

These are the first death sentences handed down by any Syrian court against senior figures of the ousted Assad regime. The civil war erupted in March 2011 after peaceful protests in Daraa were violently suppressed, escalating into a bloody conflict involving foreign powers such as Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the United States, as well as jihadist groups. The war caused over 500,000 deaths, displaced more than half the population, and triggered a massive refugee crisis.

The regime's downfall culminated in a rapid offensive starting November 27, 2024, led by the rebel coalition Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) under Ahmad al-Shara, which swiftly captured key provinces and the capital Damascus by December 8, ending the Assad family's 54-year rule. Assad escaped to Moscow before the regime's collapse was finalized. Following the rebels' takeover, atrocities committed by Assad's forces, including mass killings and torture of detainees, have been increasingly exposed, with prison openings revealing horrific conditions and torture chambers.