Syria Sentences Assad to Death

Bashar al-Assad has been handed a death sentence by a Syrian court that no longer answers to him. The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus convicted the former president in absentia of crimes against humanity and war crimes tied to the country's nearly 14-year conflict, including the killing of children, torture, and mass murder, reports AFP. Assad was toppled from power in 2024, ending his family's reign of five decades, and is now living in Russia.

"Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity," said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan in a court session aired live on state TV, per the AP. The court issued the same sentence in absentia to several former members of Assad's inner circle, including his younger brother Maher. One former security chief, Atef Najib, was tried in person and also condemned to death over abuses in Daraa, where protests in 2011 helped ignite a war that killed more than 500,000 and displaced millions.