Damascus/Internet/Hyderabad, Aug 11 (Maxim News) : A Syrian court has sentenced former president Bashar Al Assad to death in absentia over crimes linked to the country’s civil war. The court also sentenced his younger brother Maher Al Assad and their cousin Atef Najib to death.
The ruling marks the first major judicial action against the Assad family since their decades long rule ended in December 2024. The Damascus Fourth Criminal Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday.
The court convicted Bashar Al Assad in connection with killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and crimes against humanity. Maher Al Assad also received the death penalty in the same case. He previously commanded Syria’s elite Fourth Armored Division.
Atef Najib, a maternal cousin of Bashar Al Assad, faced separate charges linked to the 2011 crackdown in Daraa. Najib served as head of the Political Security Branch in the southern province during the early stages of the uprising.
Verdict Marks New Phase of Transitional Justice
The court found Najib responsible for serious abuses against civilians. The charges included killings, torture and the deaths of detainees. The case also involved alleged abuses against children during the crackdown in Daraa.
Najib had appeared before the court in Damascus after Syrian authorities arrested him earlier this year. Meanwhile, proceedings against Bashar and Maher Al Assad continued in absentia because both remain outside Syria.
The Assad brothers fled Syria after rebel forces captured Damascus in December 2024. They later went to Russia, where they received asylum, according to reports. Syria’s transitional authorities have sought accountability for senior figures from the former government.
The verdict comes as Syria pursues a broader transitional justice process. The authorities began trials against former regime officials earlier this year. The Atef Najib case became one of the first prominent trials involving a senior figure from the former security apparatus.
Bashar Al Assad ruled Syria from 2000 until his removal in 2024. His father, Hafez Al Assad, had ruled the country since 1971. Together, the Assad family dominated Syrian politics for more than five decades.
The conflict began after anti-government protests erupted in 2011. The unrest developed into a prolonged civil war involving Syrian government forces, opposition groups and foreign powers. The war killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.
The latest verdict therefore represents a major development in Syria’s effort to address alleged abuses under the former government. It also raises questions about how the death sentences against defendants outside Syria can be enforced.(Maxim News)
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