Assad Sentenced to Death in Landmark Syria Trial

A Damascus court has sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes including murder, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country's civil war. The court also handed down a death sentence to Atef Najib, a senior security official under Assad's rule.

Assad was convicted of premeditated murder of multiple people, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention, and crimes against humanity. Najib, who was tried in person, was arrested in January 2025 while trying to flee the country.

The sentencing is the first under the transitional authorities who began trying figures from the former government this year. Assad fled to Russia in December 2024, where he was granted asylum, after being ousted from power.

The Syrian civil war, which lasted for 14 years, left about half a million people dead. Assad became president in 2000 following the death of his father Hafez, and ruled the country for 24 years.

Background to the Trial Atef Najib is a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad in 2011. The trial is a significant step towards accountability for the crimes committed during the civil war.

The sentencing of Assad and Najib marks a major milestone in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the Syrian civil war. The trial is seen as a landmark moment in the country's transition towards a new era of accountability and justice.