By Spy Uganda
A Syrian court has sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother, Maher al-Assad, to death in absentia over crimes committed during the country’s 14-year civil war.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan of the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus convicted the two brothers of premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
The ruling marks the first major judicial decision against members of the former Assad regime since Bashar was overthrown and fled Syria following the rebel takeover in December 2024.
Bashar and Maher are currently in Russia and were tried in absentia.
Judge Aryan said Bashar, as the “highest decision-maker” during the civil war, used state institutions to facilitate crimes against the Syrian people. Maher, who commanded the powerful Fourth Division of the Syrian military, was also held responsible for crimes committed during the conflict.
The court also sentenced Atef Najib, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad and former head of political security in the southern province of Daraa, to death.
Najib, who was arrested in January 2025, was convicted of murder, systematic torture of detainees and other war crimes linked to the violent suppression of anti-government protests that began in Daraa in 2011.
Six other former officials of the Assad regime also received death sentences in absentia. They were identified as Fahd Jassim al-Freij, Muhammad Ayman Ayash, Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Faris al-Assimi.
The officials were convicted of offences including premeditated murder and torture.
The high-profile hearings began in April as Syria’s new authorities moved to prosecute figures linked to the former regime. Since Assad’s fall, authorities have arrested several former regime officials, including senior military and security officers.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa has repeatedly pledged to pursue transitional justice and hold those responsible for crimes and human rights violations during the Assad era accountable.
Abdel Basset Abdel Latif, head of Syria’s National Transitional Justice Authority, welcomed the ruling, describing it as an important milestone in the pursuit of justice for victims and the strengthening of the rule of law.
The Assad family ruled Syria for more than five decades. Bashar inherited the presidency from his father, Hafez al-Assad, who took power in 1971 and ruled until his death in 2000.
Bashar remained president for nearly 24 years before his government was toppled in December 2024.
The conflict began in 2011 after anti-government protests erupted in southern Syria. A violent government response helped trigger a devastating civil war that spread across the country.
More than half a million people were killed during the conflict, while more than 13 million were displaced. United Nations agencies and human rights organisations have repeatedly accused the former Assad government of war crimes and widespread human rights abuses.
The judicial process against former regime figures is continuing. Wassim al-Assad, another cousin of the ousted president, has been on trial since June. He is accused of forming and leading armed groups during the early stages of the civil war under the supervision of Maher al-Assad’s Fourth Division.
The latest ruling represents a major step in Syria’s efforts to hold former regime figures accountable as the country enters a new political era following the fall of the Assad government.
