According to Reuters, people in the city of Idlib on Tuesday, 20 Mordad, came out onto the streets following the issuance of the death sentence for Bashar al-Assad and several other officials of his government, waving Syrian flags and celebrating by distributing sweets. A court in Syria, after a trial held in absentia, sentenced Assad to death on charges of crimes against humanity, intentional murder, torture, and arbitrary detentions during the 14-year war in the country.

This is considered the first judicial conviction against Assad since his government fell in December 2024. The court also issued similar rulings for Maher al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad’s brother and commander of the Fourth Armored Division, and Atef Najib, a former security official of the government in Daraa.