A Syrian court has issued a death sentence to Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of exiled dictator Bashar al-Assad, for his involvement in crimes against humanity, torture, and multiple murders. The verdict was delivered Tuesday by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, who stated that Wassim al-Assad was convicted of setting up and leading paramilitary groups since 2011 and participating in military operations targeting civilians.
Wassim al-Assad is the first member of the al-Assad family to be sentenced in person. The ruling comes one week after Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad were sentenced to death in absentia. They are currently living in exile in Russia. Judge al-Aryan stated that Bashar al-Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Also sentenced to death in the same case was Atef Najib, another cousin of Bashar al-Assad, who was convicted of overseeing a deadly crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that is considered a catalyst for the Syrian uprising and subsequent civil war. Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general and head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in April 2011. His trial and sentencing occurred amidst tight security, with Najib appearing in a prisoner's uniform inside a cage in the courtroom.
Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the Syrian government's fall 20 months ago and have received political asylum. Syria's new rulers have requested their extradition.
During Bashar al-Assad's rule, which ended in December 2024 with his toppling by rebel forces, Syrian government forces were responsible for widespread civilian deaths as part of its strategy against the civil war. An estimated 90% of the more than 300,000 civilians who died between 2011 and December 2024 are believed to have been killed by government forces. Between 2011 and 2023, approximately 154,000 people were forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained by government forces, and over 135,000 people were tortured, incarcerated, or killed in Ba'athist prison networks.
Pro-Assad forces also carried out an estimated 330 chemical attacks between 2012 and 2019, using banned substances such as chlorine gas, Sarin gas, and sulfur mustard. In 2014, Stephen Rapp, the former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, described the Assad regime's detention facilities as a "machinery of cruel death that we haven't seen, frankly, since the Nazis," estimating that more than 10,000 individuals died in custody between 2011 and 2013.
The civil war, which lasted 14 years, led to the exodus of 6.6 million Syrians fleeing the country, contributing significantly to the European migrant crisis. Turkey remains the largest host nation, with 3.3 million Syrian refugees in 2023.
Bashar al-Assad is believed to be living in Moscow, reportedly spending his days playing online video games and practicing ophthalmology, a profession he trained for in London. He receives bodyguards paid for by the Russian government. A source close to the Kremlin indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost patience with Assad, viewing him as no longer an influential figure.
Atef Najib's downfall began in February 2011 when he ordered the arrest and torture of teenagers who had scrawled anti-regime graffiti in Daraa. The subsequent brutal treatment of these youths and the disappearance and mutilation of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khateeb after a protest catalyzed further demonstrations. These events escalated into a brutal government crackdown and the outbreak of the civil war. Although Najib was removed from his role following these atrocities, he was later reinstated in the Idlib province before his arrest in January 2025 after Assad fled the country. Six former military and security officials were also sentenced to death in absentia in the same case, including former defense minister Fahd al-Freij and Louay al-Ali, who headed military intelligence in Daraa province in 2011.