RismadarVoice Reporters, August 11, 2026
A Syrian court has sentenced ousted former President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother, Maher Assad, to death in absentia over crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria’s 14-year conflict.
The verdict was delivered on Tuesday by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, marking the first death sentences against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family’s five-decade rule ended in December 2024.
Presiding judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan said Assad had used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict, which claimed about 500,000 lives.
Assad’s maternal cousin, Atef Najib, was also sentenced to death in the same case. Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa in 2011, was convicted of overseeing a crackdown that helped trigger the uprising against Assad’s government.
Najib was accused of ordering the arrest and torture of teenagers who had written anti-government graffiti on a school wall. Their detention became a catalyst for mass protests that were met with a violent government crackdown, eventually escalating into a prolonged civil war.
Assad and Maher fled to Russia after rebels toppled the government in December 2024 and were granted political asylum. Syria’s new authorities have since asked Moscow to hand the two brothers over.
Maher Assad previously commanded Syria’s 4th Armoured Division, which opposition activists have accused of involvement in killings, torture, extortion, drug trafficking and the operation of detention facilities.
The court proceedings represent a significant legal development in efforts by Syria’s new authorities to hold senior figures from the former regime accountable for abuses committed during the conflict.
