Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad were sentenced to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to the suppression of the 2011 uprising and the conflict that followed.
The ruling was issued by a court in Damascus, according to the Associated Press, and was also reported by Syria's state news agency SANA.
Also sentenced to death was Assad's cousin Atef Najib, the former head of Political Security in Daraa.
Unlike Bashar and Maher al-Assad, who were tried in absentia and are outside Syria, Najib was present in court. According to AP, he stood inside the defendants' cage wearing prison clothing when the sentence was announced.
Figure linked to the Daraa uprising
A former brigadier general and head of Political Security in Daraa in 2011, Najib is widely regarded as one of the central figures in the events that helped trigger the Syrian uprising.
SANA reported that the charges against him included murder, torture, arbitrary detention, participation in the suppression of peaceful demonstrations using live ammunition, and responsibility for events linked to the al-Omari Mosque.
The case also included allegations of systematic killings and torture of detainees that resulted in deaths.
A key element of the prosecution concerned the arrest of children in Daraa in March 2011, an incident widely seen as one of the catalysts for the mass anti-government protests that followed.
The violent crackdown that ensued gradually evolved into a conflict that devastated Syria for more than a decade.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty
At a previous hearing on 4 August, prosecutors asked the court to convict Atef Najib, Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad and other defendants on charges including murder, torture, arbitrary detention and misuse of public funds, while seeking the maximum penalty available.
Lawyers representing civil parties also called for convictions on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, citing allegations including systematic torture, unlawful detention, killings and abuse that led to the deaths of prisoners.
The first hearing in the case took place on 26 April 2026, with Najib appearing before the court while Bashar and Maher al-Assad were listed as fugitives.
The ruling marks one of the most significant judicial developments in Syria since the fall of the Assad government, and the first time a Syrian court has imposed a death sentence on the man who ruled the country for 24 years.
Source: Associated Press, SANA
