A Syrian court has sentenced former dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia. The court convicted him of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. This ruling follows the overthrow of his regime in December 2024.
Assad fled from Damascus to Moscow with his family after his government collapsed. This conviction is the first against him. His cousin, Atef Najib, who was the former head of political security in Deraa province, also received a death sentence. Najib appeared in court wearing a striped prison uniform.
Deraa is widely considered the starting point of the uprising against Assad's rule. In March 2011, the detention and alleged torture of teenagers sparked protests there. Security forces responded with violence, which escalated into a nationwide civil war. This conflict led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
Syria's interim government began prosecuting officials linked to the Assad regime earlier this year. The Assad family had ruled the country for more than 50 years. Najib is one of the highest-ranking officials to face trial. He was found guilty of crimes including murder, the intentional killing of children under 15, and torture leading to death.
The court also sentenced six other former military and security officials to death in absentia. Among them is Bashar al-Assad's younger brother, Maher. Maher ran the army's elite Fourth Division and also fled to Moscow when the regime fell. Former defence minister Fahd al-Freij was also among those convicted.
Outside the courthouse, hundreds of people gathered, holding pictures of loved ones killed by the regime. They clapped and chanted, expressing immense joy. One man told the BBC, "The joy is indescribable," while holding a photo of his late father. He added, "God willing we will see Bashar al-Assad and all his aides hanging on the gallows."
Nouha al-Masri, a prosecutor in the case, lost her brother during the March 2011 crackdown in Deraa. She told the BBC, "We have been waiting for 15 years to reclaim even a small part of our rights." Masri emphasized that this should not be the end of the trials. She stated, "In the new Syria, there will be no impunity from this day forward."
It remains uncertain whether Syria's new authorities can secure the extradition of Bashar and Maher al-Assad from Moscow. An arrest warrant was issued against Bashar al-Assad last December for murder and torture charges. He left for Russia as forces under Ahmed al-Sharaa, now Syria's president, took power in an 11-day campaign. The new government has detained many former officials, but senior figures like Assad remain in Russia. Previous attempts by Syrian opposition figures to prosecute Assad in Western courts did not result in convictions.
Assad became president in 2000 after his father's death. He was not originally in line for the presidency until his brother, Basil, died in a 1994 car crash. As part of the Alawite minority, he favored their dominance in military, security, and intelligence roles. The civil war largely defined his rule.