Syrian court sentences Bashar Assad, brother to death for war crimes
KINS Desk
Damascus, Aug 11: A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar Assad and his younger brother Maher Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria’s 14-year conflict.
The verdict was delivered by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus and marks the first death sentences against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family’s five-decade rule ended in December 2024.
Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan said Bashar Assad had used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Assad and Maher fled Syria following the fall of the government in December 2024 and were granted political asylum in Russia. Syria’s new authorities have sought their extradition from Russia.
Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib was also sentenced to death in the same case. Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa in 2011, was convicted over his role in the crackdown that helped trigger the uprising and subsequent civil war.
Najib was detained and appeared in court as the verdict was announced under tight security in Damascus.
The conflict in Syria, which began in 2011, has killed around half a million people and displaced millions.
