A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
The Fourth Criminal Court handed down the verdict on Tuesday in a case involving Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, former senior security official Atef Najib and other defendants accused of crimes committed against Syrians.
Judge Al-Aryan said witness testimony established Assad’s role as the “highest decision-maker” and found that he had used state institutions to facilitate the crimes.
The proceedings stem from the violent crackdown that accompanied the beginning of Syria’s uprising in 2011.
Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and then-head of Political Security in the southern province of Daraa, was accused of responsibility for detaining and torturing children who had written anti-government graffiti.
Their treatment helped trigger protests in Daraa, which were met with a violent government crackdown before unrest spread across Syria, eventually developing into a civil war.
Prosecutors sought the maximum penalty against Najib, Assad, Maher al-Assad and other defendants on charges including murder, torture and arbitrary detention. SANA reported last week that prosecutors argued the evidence presented during the trial was “consistent and interconnected”.
The court on Tuesday convicted Assad of the premeditated murder of multiple victims, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.
His government survived more than a decade of civil war with crucial military support from Russia and Iran, but collapsed in December 2024 after opposition forces launched a rapid offensive and entered Damascus.
The takeover ended more than five decades of Assad family rule. Assad fled Syria and was granted asylum in Russia following a decision by President Vladimir Putin.
Assad later said he had left Damascus for Russia’s Hmeimim air base as opposition forces advanced before being evacuated to Moscow.
Tuesday’s verdict is part of a broader effort by Syria’s post-Assad authorities to prosecute former officials accused of abuses under the previous government. Assad remains in Russia and was therefore tried and sentenced in absentia.
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