Syrian Court Sentences Bashar al-Assad, Brother, Cousin to Death

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother Maher al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Najib was present in court when the verdict was delivered, while the Assad brothers were tried in absentia. The court convicted Bashar al-Assad of premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention, and crimes against humanity, including the killing of children. Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan stated during a televised session that Assad used state institutions to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Maher al-Assad, who commanded Syria’s elite 4th Armored Division, was also sentenced to death in absentia. The court also sentenced six other former officials to death: Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Mohammad Ayman Ayoush, Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser, and Talal Fares al-Aysami. This ruling marks the first conviction against Bashar al-Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family's more than five-decade rule ended in December 2024.

The 14-year conflict left about half a million people dead. Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad 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. Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general, headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa in 2011, where the arrest and alleged torture of teenagers for anti-government graffiti became an early catalyst for the nationwide protests that developed into the civil war. Najib was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in April 2011 and was detained by Syrian security forces in early 2025.