A Syrian court has sentenced former dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the nation's civil war. The verdict was delivered after al-Assad fled Damascus for Moscow with his family in December 2024, ending his family's more than 50-year rule.
In the same proceedings, Atef Najib, al-Assad's cousin and former head of political security in Deraa province, was also sentenced to death. Najib appeared in a courtroom cage as the judge read the verdict. Deraa is widely considered the birthplace of the uprising against al-Assad's regime. Protests in the city began in March 2011 after the detention and alleged torture of teenagers accused of anti-government graffiti. Security forces responded with a violent crackdown, which escalated into a nationwide civil war that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Syria's interim government initiated trials for officials associated with the al-Assad regime earlier this year. Najib, one of the highest-ranking officials to face trial, was convicted of crimes including murder, the intentional killing of children under 15, and torture resulting in death.