After being found guilty of crimes committed during Syria’s nearly 14-year conflict, former President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and cousin Atef Najib were all given death sentences. Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December 2024 and is currently living in exile in Russia, was found guilty of premeditated murder, torture, and crimes against humanity by the Criminal Court in Damascus on Tuesday. He was given the death penalty in absentia.
Maher al-Assad, his younger brother, who is currently residing in Russia, was also given a death in absentia sentence by the court for premeditated murder and torture.
After being arrested by Syrian authorities in January of last year, Atef Najib, the former chief of political security in the southern Syrian province of Deraa, was given a death sentence for “crimes against humanity.”
As the judge pronounced the punishment, Najib, who initiated a violent crackdown on demonstrators in Deraa in 2011 that sparked the rebellion and subsequent civil war, stood inside a cage dressed in a prisoner’s garb.
According to the court, he committed murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15,” and “torture leading to death.”
This is the first decision made by the transitional authorities against al-Assad and his family members since they started putting former government officials on trial this year. Speaking to the court, Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan stated that witness testimony demonstrated the former Syrian leader’s involvement in the crimes as “the highest decision-maker” and that he had utilized official institutions to enable their commission.
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