Former Syrian President Bashar Assad sentenced to death by court
Judge says Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians.
Damascus – ‘Today Is the Day of Justice’: Syrian Court Sentences Assad, Brother to Death in Absentia for War Crimes
Damascus: In a historic and symbolic ruling, a Syrian court sentenced ousted President Bashar Assad, along with his younger brother Maher, to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria’s devastating 14-year conflict — a war that left approximately half a million people dead and displaced millions more.
The sentences, handed down by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, mark the first judicial action against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family’s five decades of iron-fisted rule came to an abrupt end 20 months ago. The ruling, while unlikely to be enforced against the fugitive former president, represents a profound moment of catharsis for a nation still grappling with the scars of civil war.
“Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,” declared judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was broadcast live on state television — a deliberate choice meant to signal transparency and finality.
Also sentenced to death was Assad’s maternal cousin, Atef Najib, a former army brigadier general who was convicted of overseeing the brutal crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that ignited the uprising and later spiraled into full-blown civil war. Unlike the Assad brothers, Najib was present in court. Under tight security, he stood inside a metal cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read his sentence. Al-Aryan noted that Najib has the right to appeal.
Outside the courthouse in central Damascus, a crowd gathered to hear the verdict. Many wept. Others cheered. For them, this was not merely a legal proceeding — it was the closing of a wound that had festered for nearly a decade and a half.
‘A victory of right against injustice’
“Today is the day of justice for all the wounded, martyrs, detainees and Syrians who were forced to leave their country,” said attorney Adnan al-Masalmeh, who represented families of Najib’s victims.
Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the government’s collapse in December 2024 and received political asylum. Syria’s new rulers have formally asked Moscow to hand the Assads over — a request that remains unanswered. Maher Assad, a former commander of the Syrian military’s 4th Armored Division, has been accused by opposition activists of overseeing killings, torture, extortion, drug trafficking, and running secret detention centers.
Najib, who was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in April 2011, is one of the highest-ranking security officials to face trial. His role in the Daraa crackdown is particularly notorious. During his tenure as head of the Political Security Branch in the province, more than a dozen teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall were arrested and tortured. That case became the spark that ignited mass protests against Assad’s security forces — protests that were met with brutal force and ultimately consumed the nation.
Some of Najib’s victims were present at the courthouse on Tuesday. Mouawiya Sayasneh, who was a teenager in 2011, told The Associated Press: “Today we reached a point where the blood was not wasted. biggest happiness will be when Bashar Assad is executed.”
The bittersweet taste of justice
And yet, for all the triumph in the air, there was also a quiet, aching ambivalence. Outside the courthouse, an elderly woman held a photograph of her son — disappeared in 2013, never found. She nodded when the verdict was read, but her eyes remained dry. “This is for him,” she whispered. “But it does not bring him back.”
Human Rights Watch, while acknowledging the significance of the moment, issued a cautionary note. Syria researcher Hiba Zayadin said: “Today’s scenes outside the courthouse reflect 15 years of pain and a justice long denied. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all cases, including this one.
For now, Damascus celebrates. But the Assads remain in Moscow, and the long road to reconciliation has only just begun.