In a landmark ruling, a Syrian court has issued death sentences in absentia to former Syrian President Bashar Assad and his younger brother, holding them accountable for crimes against humanity and war crimes spanning the country’s brutal 14-year conflict. The long-standing turmoil has tragically claimed approximately half a million lives.
This consequential verdict was delivered by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus. Marking a pivotal moment in Syria’s history, these are the initial sentences against Assad or his tight-knit circle since the end of the Assad family’s half-century reign, which concluded 20 months ago.
During a live broadcast on state television, Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan resolutely stated, “Bashar Assad utilized state institutions to perpetrate war crimes and crimes against humanity,” underscoring the gravity of the charges.
In this archived image from December 9, 2010, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is captured arriving at the Elysee Palace in Paris for discussions with then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)
The court also handed down a death sentence to Assad’s maternal cousin, Atef Najib. Najib was found guilty for his role in orchestrating the harsh suppression in Daraa, which ignited the uprising that eventually escalated into a devastating civil war.
Amid tight security, Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence. A crowd of people gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus to hear the verdict.
Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the government’s fall in December 2024 and received political asylum. Syria’s new rulers have asked Russia to hand the Assads over.
Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, stands next to Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Dawoud Rajha, right, and Chief of Staff Gen. Fahed al-Jasem el-Freij, left, during a ceremony to mark the 38th anniversary of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, in Damascus, Syria. ( )
Najib, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in April 2011, was later detained and is one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial.
Najib is a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad in 2011.
During his tenure, more than a dozen teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of Assad’s security forces.
Syrian soldiers assemble near Sweida on July 15, 2025, as black smoke rises following deadly sectarian clashes in the southern province. (Stringer/Getty Images)
The protests were met by a brutal government crackdown and spiraled into a 14-year civil war that ended with Assad’s ouster in a lightning rebel offensive.
Maher Assad was a former commander of the Syrian military’s 4th Armored Division — which Syrian opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centers.