Syria Sentences Former President Bashar Assad to Death

TDT | Manama

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A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar Assad and his younger brother Maher Assad to death in absentia over crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria’s 14-year conflict, which killed an estimated half a million people.

The verdict, issued by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, marks the first death sentences against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family’s nearly five-decade rule ended in December 2024.

“Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Judge Fakhareddine Al-Aryan said during a session broadcast live on state television.

Assad and Maher fled to Russia following the collapse of the government and were granted political asylum. Syria's new authorities have since called on Moscow to hand them over.

The court also sentenced Assad’s maternal cousin, Atef Najib, to death. Najib, a former army brigadier general who headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa in 2011, was convicted over his role in the crackdown that helped trigger Syria's uprising.

Najib’s forces detained and tortured teenagers who had written anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa. The incident became a catalyst for mass protests, which were met with a violent government crackdown that eventually developed into a civil war.

Najib, who was present in court under tight security, has the right to appeal.

Families of victims welcomed the verdict, describing it as a long-awaited moment of justice. Some former detainees who were teenagers during the 2011 crackdown were also present at the courthouse.

However, Human Rights Watch criticized the use of the death penalty, saying it opposes capital punishment in all circumstances and stressing that accountability must be accompanied by fair-trial guarantees.

The Syrian conflict, which began in 2011, killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and prompted widespread allegations of torture, killings and other abuses by the Assad government and various armed groups.