Court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia in landmark trial

A Damascus court sentenced Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher and former security official Atef Najib to death on Tuesday on charges of murder, torture and incitement to murder.

The court convicted Bashar of premeditated murder of multiple people, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.

Najib was tried in person, while Bashar and Maher were tried in absentia. 

Former security official Najib, a cousin of Assad, was arrested in January last year and was convicted of crimes including murder, "the intentional killing of children under 15", and "torture leading to death".

The ruling against Assad, who fled with his family to Moscow as armed opposition forces closed in on Damascus in December 2024, is the first issued under the transitional authorities.

Read more: Court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia in landmark trial

A portrait of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with its frame broken at a Political Security Branch facility on the outskirts of Hama, 7 December 2024 (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)