A Syrian court has sentenced former ruler Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia over atrocities committed during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, marks the first death sentence handed down against Assad since Islamist-led forces ousted him in December 2024 and Syria entered a transitional phase.
Assad fled to Moscow after opposition forces launched a lightning offensive that reached Damascus and brought his decades-long rule to an end.
At a court in Damascus, Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan convicted Assad of multiple offences, including premeditated murder, the intentional killing of more than one person, the killing of children under the age of 15, torture resulting in death and repeated deprivation of liberty.
The offences were classified by the court as crimes against humanity and war crimes.
“He is, therefore, sentenced to death,” Aryan said while delivering the ruling.
The court also sentenced six former military and security officials to death in absentia, including Assad’s brother, Maher al-Assad, who previously commanded the elite Fourth Division of the Syrian Army.
Among those convicted were former Defence Minister Fahd al-Freij and Louay al-Ali, who headed military intelligence in Daraa province in 2011.
The officials were convicted of offences including murder, incitement to murder, torture leading to death and repeated deprivation of liberty.
Daraa crackdown
The case is linked to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests that erupted in Syria in 2011 and later developed into a full-scale civil war.
The uprising began in Daraa in March 2011 after 15 schoolchildren were arrested for allegedly writing anti-government slogans on walls.
Residents said the children were tortured, prompting protests demanding their release. Security forces responded with force, including the use of live ammunition against demonstrators.
Atif Najib, a cousin of Assad and the former head of political security in Daraa, was the only one of the defendants present in court.
Najib was also sentenced to death after being convicted of crimes against humanity, including the intentional killing of children under 15 and torture resulting in death.
The judge said Najib had denied the allegations and shown no remorse.
An AFP correspondent reported that dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse to witness the ruling. Some were from Daraa and carried photographs of relatives who had disappeared or been imprisoned during Assad’s rule.
Ramzi Abu Naboud was among those present, carrying a photograph of his brother, Ahmed, who was killed when Assad’s forces broke up a sit-in at Daraa’s Al-Omari Mosque in 2011.
He welcomed the verdict, saying the judgment had brought some comfort to victims and their families, although it could not restore those who had been killed.
Assad fled to Russia
Assad ruled Syria for almost 25 years after succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad, as president in 2000.
The Assad family had ruled Syria for more than five decades before Bashar was forced from power in December 2024.
The conflict that began in 2011 resulted in the deaths of more than 500,000 people and displaced millions of Syrians. Tens of thousands also disappeared, with many believed to have been detained in government prisons.
Syria began legal proceedings against Assad and other former officials in April as part of efforts by the country’s transitional authorities to investigate abuses committed during his rule.
The trials have included defendants appearing both in person and in absentia.
Since late April, the court has heard testimony from witnesses and examined documents, photographs and, at times, classified information. Some of the judge’s statements during the proceedings were also televised.
Verdict subject to appeal
Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais said the verdicts would be referred to the country’s court of cassation for a final decision.
He added that defendants had the right to appeal within 30 days.
Human Rights Watch, which monitored several of Najib’s hearings, described the proceedings as an important test of Syria’s efforts to deliver credible justice for abuses committed during the Assad era.
The organisation also called on the transitional authorities to ensure that criminal proceedings meet international fair-trial standards and to abolish the death penalty.
Syria’s national commission for transitional justice described the ruling against Najib as an important step towards accountability for serious crimes.
The verdicts come as Syria’s transitional authorities seek to establish a justice system capable of addressing abuses committed during the civil war while dealing with the legacy of more than five decades of Assad family rule.