A Syrian court sentenced deposed president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday, August 11, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the civil war that began in 2011.
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The sentence against Assad is the first issued against him under the transitional authorities, who in 2026 began trying, both in person and in absentia, figures from the former government.
Atef Najib, Assad’s maternal cousin, was also sentenced to death in the same trial for leading the repression in the southern province of Daraa that triggered the uprising and subsequently the civil war.
Under heavy security measures, Najib remained inside a cage and dressed in a prison uniform while the judge read the sentence.
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Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after insurgents entered Damascus in December 2024.
Najib was subsequently detained and became one of the highest-ranking officials of the former regime to be brought to justice. A former brigadier general of the Syrian Army, he led the Political Security branch in the Daraa province in 2011.
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