🔶 Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian dictator, and two of his close associates were sentenced to death

A court in Syria sentenced Bashar al-Assad, the former dictator of the country, to death in absentia on charges of “premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention, and crimes against humanity.”

The ruling, issued on Tuesday, August 11 (20 Mordad) by Branch Four of the Criminal Court of Damascus, was read live on state television. In addition to Bashar al-Assad, his cousin Atef Najib was also sentenced to death. Najib, who is currently present in Syria, is one of the few senior figures of the Assad government who was tried inside Syria. In 2011, he served as head of the security service of the city of Daraa.

Maher Assad, Bashar’s brother, as well as several other senior officials of the toppled Assad government, were also sentenced to death in absentia.

After fleeing Syria with his family, Bashar al-Assad sought refuge in Moscow. So far, Russia has refused to extradite him.

During the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, more than half a million people were killed between 2011 and 2024.