Former Syrian President Bashar Assad sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar Assad, his younger brother Maher Assad and maternal cousin Atef Najib to death in absentia over crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria's 14-year conflict, which left about half a million people dead.

The verdict, delivered by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, is the first against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family's five-decade rule ended 20 months ago.

“Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session aired live on state television.


Najib was convicted of overseeing a crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that triggered the uprising and later the civil war. He can appeal the death sentence, al-Aryan said.

Najib, who was detained and is among the highest-ranking security officials to be put on trial, stood inside a cage in a prisoner's uniform as the judge read the verdict. A crowd gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus to hear the sentence.

“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. “Today marks a victory of right against injustice, a victory of the Syrian people against the ousted regime.”

Assad and Maher fled to Russia after the government's fall in December 2024 and were granted political asylum. Syria's new rulers have asked Russia to hand them over.

Najib, a former army brigadier general, headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa in 2011. He was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in April 2011 and was later detained.

During his tenure, more than a dozen teenagers who wrote anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured. The incident became a catalyst for mass protests against the policies of Assad's security forces. The protests were met with a government crackdown that spiralled into a 14-year civil war, ending with Assad's ouster following a lightning rebel offensive.

Some of Najib's victims attended the court hearing, including two who were teenagers in 2011.

“Today we reached a point where the blood was not wasted,” said Mouawiya Sayasneh, referring to those who died in the crackdown. Fifteen years later, “there is happiness that Atef Najib was sentenced to death,” he said.

Nayef Abazeid, who was detained at the age of 13 in 2011, also welcomed the verdict, saying that “our biggest happiness will be when Bashar Assad is executed.”

Maher Assad was a former commander of the Syrian military's 4th Armored Division, which opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, as well as operating its own detention centres.

“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,” said Hiba Zayadin, Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It's cruel and irreversible, especially when a fair trial isn't guaranteed.”

Zayadin said Najib has the right to appeal and that the process “needs to meet fair trial standards too.” She added that real accountability for Assad-era crimes depends on Syria building a justice system that lasts.