In a landmark ruling, a Damascus court has convicted the former president and eight other officials for atrocities committed during Syria’s 14-year civil war.
DAMASCUS, Syria – A Syrian court has sentenced ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s devastating civil war . The ruling marks the first conviction against Assad, who fled to Moscow with his family in December 2024 after his regime was overthrown in a lightning rebel offensive .
The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus also sentenced Assad’s younger brother, Maher al-Assad, who commanded the army’s elite Fourth Division, to death in absentia . Six other former military and security officials received the same sentence .
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan ruled that Bashar al-Assad, as the “highest decision-maker,” used state institutions to facilitate crimes against the Syrian people . The court convicted him of “premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children,” as well as torture, arbitrary arrest, and crimes against humanity .
The Trial That Shook Damascus
Unlike his more powerful relatives, Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and the former head of political security in Deraa province, was physically present in the courtroom . Wearing a striped prison uniform, he stood inside a metal cage as the judge read his death sentence .
Najib, 66, was arrested in January 2025 after returning to Syria following the regime’s collapse . He was convicted of crimes including murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15,” and “torture leading to death” .
His trial has been widely seen as a test of Syria’s transitional justice process . More than 75 plaintiffs filed cases against him, and victims and their families traveled to Damascus to testify .
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Deraa is widely regarded as the birthplace of the uprising against Assad’s rule . In March 2011, security forces arrested and tortured a group of teenagers accused of writing anti-government graffiti on a school wall . When protests erupted in response, Najib’s forces opened fire on demonstrators, sparking nationwide demonstrations that escalated into a brutal civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people .
‘A Small Part of Our Rights’
For Nouha al-Masri, a prosecutor and plaintiff in the case, the verdict represents 15 years of waiting . She lost her brother during the March 2011 crackdown and massacre at Al-Omari Square in Deraa .
“The verdict reflects the magnitude of the sacrifices we made, the sacrifices of the martyrs, the suffering and pain of the victims, the missing, and the detainees,” she told the BBC . “We have been waiting for 15 years to reclaim even a small part of our rights.”
“Our demand is that this not be the end of the trials,” she added. “In the new Syria, there will be no impunity from this day forward.”
The Extradition Hurdle
It remains uncertain whether Syria’s new authorities will be able to secure the extradition of Bashar and Maher al-Assad from Moscow . Russia granted both men political asylum after the regime’s fall .
The two countries signed an extradition treaty in 2022, but it contains provisions that could complicate Assad’s return . The treaty expressly states that extradition shall not take place where the offense is punishable by death unless the requesting country gives adequate assurances that the death penalty will not be carried out . Additionally, the treaty requires that a person sentenced in absentia be guaranteed the right to a retrial .
While the verdict is a significant symbolic step toward accountability, experts caution that transitional justice takes time . Syria’s interim government has established a National Commission for Transitional Justice and has detained numerous former officials and security personnel since taking power .
Abdul Basit Abdul Latif, head of the commission, praised the ruling as “an important milestone on the path to justice, fairness for victims, and the consolidation of the rule of law” .
Outside the courthouse, crowds gathered to celebrate . “Today is the day of justice for all the wounded, martyrs, detainees and Syrians who were forced to leave their country,” said lawyer Adnan al-Masalmeh, who represented families of Najib’s victims . “Today marks a victory of right against injustice.”
