A Syrian court has sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother, Maher, to death in absentia over crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria’s long-running conflict.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus.
It marked the first major convictions involving Assad or members of his immediate family since the end of his family’s decades-long rule in December 2024.
The conflict lasted about 14 years and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions.
During the court proceedings, which were broadcast live on Syrian state television, Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan said, “Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Assad’s maternal cousin, Atef Najib, was also sentenced to death in the same case.
Najib was convicted over his role in the security crackdown in Daraa province, where protests in 2011 helped start the uprising that later turned into a civil war.
He was present in court when the judgment was delivered under heavy security. A crowd also gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus as the verdict was announced.
Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general, headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa during the early period of the uprising.
The United States Treasury Department sanctioned him in April 2011. He was later detained following the fall of the Assad government.
The uprising in Daraa began after security authorities arrested several teenagers over anti-government graffiti written on a school wall.
The treatment of the teenagers led to widespread anger and protests against Assad’s government.
The authorities responded with a security crackdown, and the unrest later developed into a nationwide armed conflict involving government forces, opposition groups and foreign powers.
The war eventually ended Assad’s rule after opposition forces launched a rapid offensive in late 2024.
Bashar and Maher Assad fled to Russia after the collapse of the government in December 2024 and were later granted political asylum.
Syria’s new authorities have asked Russia to extradite members of the Assad family so they can face prosecution.
Maher Assad previously commanded the Syrian military’s 4th Armoured Division, a powerful military unit that opposition groups accused of committing serious abuses during the conflict.
The death sentences were handed down in the absence of both brothers, who remain outside Syria.
