{"id":245624,"date":"2026-08-12T03:21:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T03:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/245624\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T03:21:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T03:21:56","slug":"former-syrian-president-al-assad-sentenced-to-death-in-absentia-for-war-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/245624\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Syrian President al-Assad sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A Syrian court sentenced President Bashar Assad in absentia.Remy De La Mauviniere\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his brother in absentia for murder, torture and crimes against humanity committed before and during the country\u2019s 14-year civil war that left about half a million people dead.<\/p>\n

The verdicts by a court in Damascus are the first against al-Assad or any members of his inner circle since his family\u2019s five decades in power came to an end 20 months ago. They are mostly symbolic, however, because al-Assad and his brother Maher had fled to Russia, where they received asylum after the Syrian government\u2019s stunning collapse in December, 2024.<\/p>\n

Six other former officials were also sentenced to death in absentia. The only former official sentenced to death and in custody is al-Assad\u2019s maternal cousin Atef Najib, who oversaw a crackdown on dissent that led to an uprising that sparked the civil war. Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner\u2019s uniform as the judge read his sentence aloud, and a crowd gathered outside the heavily guarded courthouse.<\/p>\n

Even though al-Assad is unlikely to ever face justice, the verdicts will be popular among many Syrians, especially those who have expressed frustration that the new government hasn\u2019t moved with enough speed or strength against al-Assad-era figures.<\/p>\n

Some human rights groups, though, expressed concerns that the trials were rushed, potentially unfair and, at the very least, exposed flaws in Syria\u2019s justice system.<\/p>\n

\u201cBashar al-Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,\u201d said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was aired live on state TV \u2013 a contrast with al-Assad-era trials, which were conducted in secret. The verdicts al-Aryan read aloud found al-Assad and the others guilty of premeditated murder, including against children, as well as other acts of brutality, including torture.<\/p>\n

Al-Aryan said Najib could appeal. <\/p>\n

\u201cToday is the day of justice for all the wounded, martyrs, detainees and Syrians who were forced to leave their country,\u201d said attorney Adnan al-Masalmeh who represented families of Najib\u2019s victims. \u201cToday marks a victory of right against injustice, a victory of the Syrian people against the ousted regime.\u201d <\/p>\n

A year after al-Assad\u2019s fall, celebration turns to fear and division<\/a><\/p>\n

Najib is one of the highest-ranking security officials to be put on trial. He is a former army brigadier-general who was in charge of political security in Syria\u2019s southern Daraa province. <\/p>\n

During his tenure, more than a dozen teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall were arrested and tortured. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of al-Assad\u2019s security forces.<\/p>\n

The protests were met by a brutal government crackdown in 2011 that spiralled into the civil war that ended with al-Assad\u2019s ouster in a lightning rebel offensive. <\/p>\n

Some of Najib\u2019s victims were present at the courthouse, including two who were teenagers in 2011 and expressed their opinions to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we reached a point where the blood was not wasted,\u201d said Mouawiya Sayasneh, about those who died in the crackdown. Fifteen years later, \u201cthere is happiness that Atef Najib was sentenced to death,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Another man, Nayef Abazeid, who was detained at the age of 13 in 2011, expressed his satisfaction with the sentence, adding that \u201cour biggest happiness will be when Bashar al-Assad is executed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maher al-Assad was a former commander of the Syrian military\u2019s 4th Armored Division \u2013 which opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centres.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s scenes outside the courthouse reflect 15 years of pain and a justice long denied,\u201d said Hiba Zayadin, Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch. She said the rights group opposes the death penalty in all cases, including this one, because \u201cit\u2019s cruel and irreversible, especially when a fair trial isn\u2019t guaranteed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the appeal process for Najib \u201cneeds to meet fair trial standards.\u201d Real accountability for al-Assad-era crimes depends on Syria building a justice system that lasts, she said.<\/p>\n

The Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Center described Tuesday\u2019s conviction of Najib as a \u201chistorical step in Syria\u2019s transitional period,\u201d but said it exposed major flaws in the justice system which likely jeopardized his right to a fair trial.<\/p>\n

It said that SJAC\u2019s trial monitoring team attended Najib\u2019s trial and documented multiple issues such as rushed proceedings and witness testimony that did not connect Atef to the crimes he was charged with. SJAC said Najib\u2019s lawyer \u201clacked the capacity and willingness to meaningfully engage with the case or mount an adequate defence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A Syrian court sentenced President Bashar Assad in absentia.Remy De La Mauviniere\/The Associated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[30],"tags":[950,936,951,158,928,952,949,927,942,943,939,929,926,147,948,703,941,934,963,930,931,394,937,938,674,953,345,958,959,961,956,960,954,957,932,945,946,81,944,955,935,95,947,462,940,933,82,962],"class_list":["post-245624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-syria","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-syria","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}