Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death by Syrian Court for war crimes

The hearing was presided over by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, with the participation of Republic Public Prosecutor Judge Hassan al-Turba, Head of the National Commission for Transitional Justice Abdul Basit Abdul Latif and members of the commission, state news agency SANA reported.

Representatives of international legal and humanitarian organisations, along with families of victims, attended the hearing.

The court also sentenced Assad's maternal cousin, Atef Najib, to death. Najib, who was present at the hearing, was convicted over his role in leading the crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that helped trigger the uprising and subsequent civil war.

Najib had previously served as the head of political security in Daraa city.

The judge also announced death sentences against several fugitives, including Maher Hafez al-Assad, Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Mohammad Ayman Ayoush, Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Fares al-Aysami, SANA reported.

Assad fled Syria after insurgents entered Damascus in 2024, bringing an end to his decades-long rule. He subsequently received political asylum in Russia.

Najib, who was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in 2011, was later detained by Syrian authorities.

He is among the highest-ranking former Syrian officials to face trial over the crackdown and violence that followed the 2011 uprising.