Syrian Court Sentences Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad, Atef Najib to Death in Absentia

A Syrian court in Damascus sentenced ousted former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday after convicting him of crimes during the country’s nearly 14-year war, including premeditated murder, torture and crimes against humanity.

“The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus on Tuesday found Bashar al-Assad”

Al Jazeera

The Fourth Criminal Court also sentenced Maher al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder and torture, and it sentenced Atef Najib, the former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province, to death for “crimes against humanity”.

Al Jazeera

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Najib had denied the charges and showed “no remorse,” while Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto said the ruling “is going to bring a lot of relief to the Syrian people”.

CNN reported that judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan said, “Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,” as Syrians gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus to hear the verdict.

Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence, and Reuters described Syrians gathered around the court in Damascus chanting, clapping and waving the Syrian flag as news of the sentences spread.

Reuters said the judge issued the same sentence in absentia to Maher al-Assad, and it quoted prosecutor Noha al-Masri saying, “The ruling that came, as we expected, was as big as the sacrifices that Syrians gave for 15 years”.

Al-Jazirah Net

But Reuters also included skepticism from Anwar al-Bunni, head of the Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research, who said, “This is performative justice, not transitional justice,” warning that the death sentence could reduce the chance of repatriation to face justice.

The BBC similarly described Najib’s courtroom appearance in a striped prison uniform inside a cage, and it quoted Masri saying, “We have been waiting for 15 years to reclaim even a small part of our rights”.

In Deraa, the BBC said the detention and alleged torture of teenagers accused of writing anti-government graffiti in March 2011 sparked protests that escalated into civil war, while Reuters said the case became a catalyst for mass protests against Assad’s security forces.

The ruling was described as the first under Syria’s transitional authorities that began trying figures from the former government this year, with Al Jazeera reporting that Judge al-Aryan said witness testimony established Bashar al-Assad’s role as “the highest decision-maker”.

““the highest decision-maker””

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said Syria has repeatedly demanded that Russia extradite al-Assad, but Moscow has refused to extradite him and has granted him asylum, while Hitto said Moscow is unlikely to reverse course barring “a major political breakthrough between the two countries”.

Reuters said the sentencing follows a nearly four-month trial process billed by Syria’s new Islamist-led authorities as a sign the country was prioritising transitional justice, but it also reported that some said the death sentence would diminish any chance of Assad and fellow defendants being repatriated.

The BBC added that it remains unclear whether Syria’s new authorities will be able to secure Bashar and Maher al-Assad’s extraditions from Moscow, and it noted that an arrest warrant was issued against Assad last December on charges of murder and torture.