Syrian Court Sentences Bashar And Maher Al-Assad, Atef Najib, To Death In Absentia

A Syrian court in Damascus sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year civil war that left about half a million people dead.

“A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Bashar Assad to death in absentia.”

DW

The verdict was delivered by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus and read out live on Syrian state television, with judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan saying, “Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

ABC News

The court also sentenced Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib to death, describing his role in the 2011 crackdown in Daraa that helped ignite the uprising and the civil war that followed.

DW reported that Assad was ousted in December 2024 after rebel forces swept into Damascus, ending more than five decades of rule by the Assad family, and that Assad and his family fled to Russia where he was granted asylum.

ABC News said the sentences marked the first verdict since Assad fled to Russia in 2024 and that Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence.

DW reported the court convicted Assad of “premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children, torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity,” and said the judge described Assad’s contribution as “the person ultimately responsible for decision-making, mobilizing state institutions to commit them.”

In the same case, ABC News quoted attorney Adnan al-Masalmeh saying, “Today is the day of justice for all the wounded, martyrs, detainees and Syrians who were forced to leave their country,” as a crowd gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus.

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera’s profile of Atef Najib said he was sentenced alongside Assad and Maher al-Assad and that Najib was in detention in Syria since January 2025, while Assad had fled to Russia after the regime fell in December 2024.

Al Jazeera also reported that Najib was charged with at least 10 crimes, including murder, torture and responsibility for massacres, and that the Fourth Criminal Court found crimes committed by al-Assad’s government in Deraa province in 2011 amounted to crimes against humanity.

The Guardian said Najib’s trial was highly publicised, with pictures of him listening to proceedings while dressed in a prison uniform and held in a cage in court, and it said the Syrian government presented the case as a landmark in transitional justice.

ABC News reported that Atef Najib has the right to appeal within 30 days while the others do not because they refused to appear in court, and it said Radeef Mustafa, director of the accountability department at the National Commission for Transitional Justice, described the process.

“Russia granted Mr. al-Assad and his brother asylum.”

The New York Times

The New York Times said Russia granted Assad and his brother asylum and that the Syrian government called for extradition, while it reported that Russian authorities were unlikely to return him.

Human Rights Watch criticized the use of capital punishment while emphasizing accountability, with Hiba Zayadin saying, “Today’s scenes outside the courthouse reflect 15 years of pain and a justice long denied,” and adding, “Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all cases, including this one.”

Al Jazeera reported that the trial was a test case for Syria’s transitional justice system and for the new government’s ability to hold al-Assad regime officials to account, and it said the government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faced criticism for delays in launching a promised transitional justice process.

The Guardian added that the court said it would pursue international legal avenues to try to prosecute the two men, but noted that Russian officials have previously declined requests to extradite its former Syrian allies.