A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, convicting him of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the country’s 14-year conflict. The ruling, delivered amid heavy security, marks what international observers described as a major step in holding top figures of the former regime accountable, even though Assad is no longer in Syrian custody.
According to the indictment reflected in multiple reports, the case centered on atrocities committed during the civil war that left about half a million people dead and produced mass displacement across Syria. The court found Assad responsible for premeditated and intentional murder affecting more than one person and children, as well as torture, arbitrary arrest and other acts classified as crimes against humanity.
Assad was not alone. His younger brother, Maher al-Assad—who commanded the feared Fourth Division and was widely viewed as one of the regime’s key security figures—was also sentenced to death in absentia. Both men had fled after the collapse of the government in late 2024, when insurgents launched a rapid offensive that toppled the Damascus regime.
The reporting describes a courtroom scene that underscored the gravity of the proceedings for figures who remained within reach of Syrian authorities. Assad’s maternal cousin, Atef Najib, attended the trial. Najib, identified as the former head of political security in the southern province of Daraa, was brought in a prisoner’s uniform and stood in a cage as the judge read out the sentence, according to accounts published at the time. Euronews
The court’s findings regarding Najib focused on his role in the crackdown in Daraa in 2011, an episode that helped ignite broader protests and ultimately escalated into civil war. In the years that followed, Daraa became a symbol of the early uprising against the Assad authorities, and the court’s decision tied the initial suppression of dissent to the later scale of violence.
Multiple outlets reporting on the verdict said Najib was convicted for leading the security crackdown in Daraa that preceded the uprising and the war’s expansion beyond the south of the country. The Guardian
In the same case, the court also sentenced additional former military and security officials to death in absentia, broadening the net beyond the highest-ranking family members. Reuters-linked coverage described six former officials among those condemned, including former defence minister Fahd al-Freij, whose name also appeared among the people convicted without being present in court. BBC News
For Assad, the sentence comes after a period of flight and exile following the regime’s overthrow. Reports say Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after insurgents marched into Damascus in December 2024. In effect, the court proceedings proceeded without the defendants, and the verdicts were delivered in absentia, reflecting the reality that Syria’s former leader is believed to be outside the country’s jurisdiction.
For Najib, the courtroom appearance provided a stark contrast to Assad’s absence. He was presented as a senior operative with direct responsibility in the early period of the uprising, and the visual details reported—standing in a cage wearing prison clothes while the judge announced the sentence—became part of the coverage of the day. France 24
While the death sentences represent the harshest penalty in Syrian law, the decision also highlights the challenges of transitional justice in the aftermath of a conflict that lasted more than a decade. With top targets abroad and many suspects believed to have scattered or remained beyond immediate reach, court outcomes may continue to unfold slowly, case by case, and often without the presence of the accused.
The verdict’s legal framing—concentrating on war crimes and crimes against humanity—ties the court’s reasoning to established categories of international criminal conduct. The allegations described in reporting span a spectrum of conduct, from killings that prosecutors characterized as premeditated and intentional, to torture and arbitrary detention, and to acts assessed as part of systematic persecution during the civil war’s height.
In parallel, the court’s focus on Daraa underscores the narrative that the war’s origins were not a distant background but rather a chain of decisions and operations involving security leadership. By placing Atef Najib at the center of the Daraa crackdown, the trial effectively connected the crackdown of 2011 to the conflict’s later expansion across Syria.
The sentencing also lands amid ongoing public demand for accountability from survivors and families of victims. Several reports carried references to long-awaited legal reckonings and included accounts of people who believe such decisions at least acknowledge suffering that continued for years behind prison walls, during detention and amid mass violence.
Tuesday’s ruling does not reinstate Assad or Maher into any role in Syrian governance; the former president’s government was removed in the December 2024 offensive. But the court’s decision serves as a signal that Syrian authorities and the newly established judicial apparatus intend to pursue accountability for the former regime, including those who are no longer physically within the courtroom system.
As the legal process continues—through appeals, enforcement questions and possible further prosecutions—Tuesday’s death sentences set a clear marker: the Syrian court has formally condemned Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad and senior security figures tied to the early crackdown for conduct described as crimes against humanity and war crimes during the conflict that reshaped the country.
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