Syrian court sentences Assad, his brother to death in absentia

A criminal court in Damascus on Tuesday sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia after convicting them of crimes against humanity and other offenses, the SANA news agency reported.

The Fourth Criminal Court also sentenced Assad's cousin Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, and six other fugitives—Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Mohammed Ayman Ayoush, Louay al-Ali, Qusai Ibrahim Mhayoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Fares al-Asimi—to death.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Assad's role in the crimes was that of "the highest decision-maker," adding that he had used state institutions to facilitate their commission.

The court convicted Assad of premeditated murder of multiple victims, including children, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to death in absentia.

The court also convicted Najib, who is in detention, of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death, while Maher al-Assad and the six other fugitives were convicted of premeditated murder, torture resulting in death and crimes against humanity, according to SANA.

The court also requested the international prosecution of the eight fugitives and ordered international arrest warrants be issued against them, the agency said.

The ruling was delivered during the ninth hearing of the case in the presence of Syria's attorney general, the head of the National Transitional Justice Commission, representatives of international legal and human rights organizations, and relatives of victims.

In the first official domestic reaction to the verdict, National Transitional Justice Commission chief Abdul Basit Abdul Latif described the ruling as "an important milestone on the path to justice, redressing victims and consolidating the rule of law."

"This is not the end of the road, but it is an important milestone on the path to justice, redressing victims and consolidating the rule of law," Abdul Latif wrote on the US social media company X.

The ruling marks the first death sentence issued by a Syrian court against Bashar al-Assad since his overthrow.

Assad succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, in 2000 and ruled Syria for nearly 25 years before fleeing to Russia on Dec. 8, 2024, ending more than five decades of Baath Party rule that began in 1963. A transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa took office in January 2025.

The trial centered on crimes committed by senior officials of the former Syrian government, including Najib, who headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa.

During Assad's rule, his government was repeatedly accused by the UN, international human rights organizations and Western governments of widespread violations, including mass killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the use of chemical weapons.

Following Assad's overthrow, Syria's transitional authorities established accountability and transitional justice mechanisms to investigate crimes committed under the former government, making Tuesday's ruling the most significant judicial step in that process to date.