Bashar al Assad sentenced to death by Syrian court

Former Syrian president Bashar al Assad has been sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes, following a ruling by a court in the country.Assad fled the capital Damascus, and flew to Moscow in December 2024 after his government fell following a lightning offensive by anti-regime forces. Read more: How Syrian rebels overthrew Assad in just over a weekOn Tuesday, the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus sentenced him and his brother Maher al Assad in absentia for the crimes carried out from 2011 to the end of the regime.During Syria's almost 14-year conflict, about half a million people were killed. "Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity", judge Fakhareddine al Aryan said during a court session that was aired live on state TV. The rise and fall of Assad's presidency Assad's maternal cousin Atef Najib - detained in Syria - was also sentenced to death for leading the 2011 crackdown in the southern province of Daraa, where more than a dozen teenagers were detained and tortured for anti-regime graffiti. Image: Atef Najib, former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa under Assad, in April. File pic: AP The in...