DAMASCUS, Aug 11 - A Syrian court on Tuesday issued a death sentence for former president Bashar al-Assad following proceedings held in absentia, finding him guilty of multiple crimes committed during the country’s protracted conflict. The tribunal convicted Assad of charges that include killings, torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity, marking the first recorded conviction against him.
According to the ruling handed down during a trial of former government officials, the judge determined that Assad was guilty of "premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children, torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity." The same hearing resulted in a death sentence for Atef Najib, a former security official who served under Assad.
The court decision follows the ousting of Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024. That offensive ended decades of control by his family and concluded a brutal chapter of conflict that the article describes as having killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Assad left the capital, Damascus, as rebel fighters neared the city nearly two years ago and is reported to be in Moscow at present.
Born in 1965, Assad rose to the presidency in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez. During his tenure he preserved his family's political dominance and the prominent position of the Alawite sect in the majority Sunni country. Under his rule, Syria remained aligned with Iran and adversarial toward Israel and the United States, the article states.
The narrative of Assad's leadership, as presented in the court proceedings and related reporting, traces key influences on his early years in power to regional conflicts such as the Iraq war and the crisis in Lebanon. His rule was ultimately defined by civil war that escalated from mass protests in 2011 - protests that began as demands for democratic change during the Arab Spring and were met with lethal force.
The sentencing of Assad in absentia is the first formal conviction recorded against him in connection with alleged abuses during the conflict. The court's findings and the concurrent sentence for Atef Najib highlight accountability actions taken by the judicial process in Damascus against former officials.
Context and next steps
The judgment represents a legal determination reached by the court in Damascus. The effect of the sentence on Mr. Assad given his absence and reported presence abroad is not detailed in the ruling itself.