Syria’s Ex-President Bashar al-Assad Sentenced to Death for Crimes Against Humanity

A Syrian criminal court on Tuesday sentenced former president Bashar al-Assad to death after convicting him of premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war.

The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus also handed down death sentences to Assad’s brother Maher al-Assad and former security official Atef Najib on charges of murder, torture and incitement to murder.

Assad and his brother were tried in absentia. Najib appeared in person. The court further ordered that Bashar and Maher al-Assad be pursued internationally.

Assad was found guilty of the premeditated murder of multiple people, including children, as well as systematic torture and other acts classified as crimes against humanity. Investigators and witness testimony linked Najib to the interrogation of detainees and a security campaign against civilians in Daraa after protests erupted there in 2011.

Assad fled to Russia in December 2024 as opposition forces advanced on Damascus and toppled his regime. He has remained there under political asylum. The ruling marks one of the most significant accountability steps taken by Syria’s transitional authorities against senior figures of the former government.

The case forms part of a broader effort by the new authorities to prosecute alleged perpetrators of atrocities from the Assad era.