Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes

Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was convicted of premeditated murder of multiple people, including children, torture, arbitrary detention, and crimes against humanity.

A Syrian court sentenced ousted leader ⁠Bashar al-Assad ⁠to death on Tuesday ⁠after a trial in absentia, convicting him of crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country’s nearly 14-year war. It was the first conviction against ‌Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024 that ended decades of his family’s iron-fisted rule over Syria and the brutal war that killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Assad fled the capital Damascus as rebel fighters...

A Syrian court has sentenced Bashar Assad, Maher Assad, and Atef Najib to death in absentia Tuesday for war crimes during Syria’s 14-year conflict.

DAMASCUS, Aug 11 (Reuters) - A Syrian court sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad to death on Tuesday after a trial in absentia, convicting him of crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country's nearly 14-year war.It was the first conviction against Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024 that ended decades of his family's iron-fisted rule over Syria, and the brutal war that killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians.

Damascus: Former president and ousted dictator of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and Atef Najib, the former head of political security in the southern province of Deraa, were sentenced to death by a criminal court in Damascus on Tuesday.Bashar Al-Assad was convicted over charges related to "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" during Syria's 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead. His younger brother, Maher al-Assad, former leader in the Syrian military, has also been awarded the death sentence.Fall of Assad governmentIn December 2024, Assad fled Damascus and flew to Moscow after his government collapsed after a strong wave of anti-regime forces.Najib, who is also Assad's maternal cousin, stayed behind, was later detained and became one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial.Assad succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, in 2000 and ruled Syria until his ouster in December 2024. His father had ruled the country for nearly three decades.Civil war and alleged abusesIn 2011, the Syrian civil war began after security forces violently cracked down on anti-government protests in Deraa. The uprising escalated into a nationwide conflict involving government forces, armed opposition groups and foreign powers, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.Syria Minibus Explosion: 2 Killed, 13 Injured After Explosive Device Detonates During Peak Traffic Hours In Jaramana | VideoUN investigators and international rights organisations documented alleged abuses by government forces as well as violations by armed opposition groups and other parties to the conflict during the war. His government was also accused of running a widespread detention and torture system.

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former ruler Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, after convicting him over charges of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” during the country’s civil war. The ruling against Assad, who fled with his family to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus in December 2024, is the first under the transitional authorities who this year began trying figures from the former government, both in person and in absentia. Assad, who was born in 1965, became president in 2000 after his father Hafez died. Shaped in its early years by the Iraq war and crisis in Lebanon, Assad’s rule was defined by civil war, which spiralled out of the 2011 Arab Spring, when Syrians demanding democracy took to the streets, to be met with deadly force. A Syrian court also sentenced Assad-era official Atif Najib to death for “crimes against humanity” committed when he was head of political security in Daraa province, the cradle of the country’s 2011 uprising. The court convicted Najib, a cousin of Bashar and arrested in January last year, of crimes including murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15”, and “torture leading to death”. The acts attributed to him are “crimes against humanity”, the court said as it handed down “the harshest punishment against him, which is the death penalty”.