Damascus court sentences Assad to death in absentia over war crimes

The latest:

Nine figures from the former Syrian government, led by ousted president Bashar al-Assad, were sentenced to death in absentia on Tuesday by a court in Damascus after being convicted of murder, torture and crimes against humanity during the nearly 14-year civil war. Crowds celebrated outside the Palace of Justice and in streets across the country, according to The New York Times and The National.

Details:

• The defendants: Those sentenced include Maher al-Assad, the former president’s younger brother, who commanded the 4th Armoured Division, and Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and former political security chief in Deraa. Also convicted were former defence minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij and senior intelligence officers Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mihoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser, Mohammad Ayman Ayoush and Talal Fares al-Aysami.
• Appeal rights: Najib was the only defendant physically present and may appeal within 30 days, said Radeef Mustafa of the National Commission for Transitional Justice. The others forfeited that right by refusing to appear. The reports did not say whether any of the absent defendants were represented by defence counsel.
• The charges: Najib was indicted over killings, torture, arbitrary detention, firing live ammunition at peaceful protests and systematic deaths inside detention centres. The court traced the 2011 uprising to the arrest and torture of schoolchildren in Deraa under his command. No figure was published for the total number of victims in the case.
• Where they are: Assad, Maher and many officials fled to Russia after the government fell in December 2024, and Moscow granted the brothers asylum. Damascus has demanded extradition, which the reports assessed as unlikely. Russian authorities issued no response in the material.
• Rights groups: Fadel Abdul Ghany of the Syrian Network for Human Rights said the ruling “marks a major break with Syria’s longstanding culture of impunity,” while warning Syria lacks a comprehensive legal framework and an independent transitional-justice court. He did not say what alternative mechanism he favours.
• The evidence gap: An expert cited in the reporting said the case rests heavily on witness testimony 15 years after the events, since much documentation was lost or inaccessible, and that assessment is impossible until the written verdict, reported at more than 300 pages, is published. The court has not said when it will release it.
• The death penalty: Commission head Abdul Basit Abdul Latif called the Najib verdict an important step toward justice. He had said earlier this year that Parliament would decide whether Syria retains capital punishment when it votes on a transitional justice law. The reports gave no date for that vote.
• Public pressure: Syrians have grown increasingly impatient over the pace of trials, with some accusing the interim government of not prioritising accountability, according to The New York Times. International legal experts cautioned that transitional justice cannot be rushed. No timetable for further trials was announced.
• Sanctions record: The United States sanctioned al-Freij in 2013 over summary executions and indiscriminate attacks, and later sanctioned Maher al-Assad and 4th Division associates over smuggling and Captagon trafficking. The European Union sanctioned al-Ali and Mihoub over violence against demonstrators.
• إضافة: Only one defendant, Assad’s cousin Atef Najib, appeared in court and can appeal within 30 days.

Background:

Assad took power in June 2000 after the death of his father Hafez, who ruled nearly 30 years. Rights groups accused his government of chemical weapons use, including the August 2013 sarin attack in Ghouta, which it denied. Rebels ousted him in December 2024.

Between the lines:

The gap between the celebrations and the caution of rights monitors sits in one document: the more than 300-page written verdict the court has not released. Abdul Ghany’s test — individual criminal responsibility and evidence tying specific Deraa crimes to specific defendants — cannot be applied until it appears. With eight of nine defendants outside Syria and beyond appeal, the ruling’s durability rests on that text rather than on enforcement.

What’s next

Watch for the release of the full written verdict, Najib’s 30-day appeal window, any Russian response to extradition demands, and Parliament’s vote on the transitional justice law that will decide the death penalty’s future.