Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death, but there's catch
Bashar al-Assad (photo: Getty Images)
A Syrian court sentenced ousted president Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother to death in absentia. They were found guilty of crimes that led to the deaths of around half a million people, according to the Associated Press.
The judges considered the actions of Assad and his brother in the context of the 14 years of the Syrian conflict.
"Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity," Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan said during the court hearing.
In addition, it is noted that Assad's maternal cousin, Atef Najib, was sentenced to death in the case. He was found guilty of leading the crackdown in the southern province of Daraa, which led to an uprising and later to the civil war.
Under heavy security, Najib stood in a cage wearing a prison uniform as the judge read out the verdict. A crowd gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus to hear the court's decision.
It is important to note that Assad's cousin is a former brigadier general in the Syrian army.
Why can't Assad's sentence be carried out yet?
The reason is that former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the fall of the government in December 2024. They were granted political asylum there.
Syria's new authorities have called on Moscow to extradite the Assads, but the Kremlin does not intend to comply with the request.
"Maher Assad was a former commander of the Syrian military's 4th Armored Division — which opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centers," the report says.
As for Najib, he was later detained. He is one of the highest-ranking officials of the former regime to be brought to trial.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also supported the arrest warrant for Assad and recalled who he is hiding with in Moscow.
