A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former ruler Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, after convicting him over charges of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” during the country’s civil war.
The court affirmed that Bashar al-Assad was the ultimate decision-maker in these crimes and that he used state institutions to carry them out.
Similarly, the court convicted other fugitives named in the case—Maher Hafez al-Assad, Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Muhammad Ayman Ayoush, Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay and Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser, and Talal Fares al-Asimi—of premeditated murder, torture leading to death, and sentenced them to death.
The court also sentenced the head of political security in Daraa, Atef Najib, to death in person, after investigations and witness testimonies proved his involvement in the interrogation of a number of detainees following the start of the protests in Daraa.
The court noted that Atef Najib led the security campaign against civilians in Daraa at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, confirming that the actions attributed to him, according to investigations and witness testimonies, constitute crimes against humanity.
The ruling against Assad, who fled with his family to Moscow as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus in December 2024, is the first under the transitional authorities who this year began trying figures from the former government, both in person and in absentia. (AFP/EIR)
