Syria sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity
A Syrian court handed death sentences to Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher — both in absentia — alongside their cousin Atef Najib, who attended the trial in a cage and was found guilty of leading the 2011 Daraa crackdown that sparked the civil war.
Published on 11/08/2026 - 11:09 GMT+2
A Syrian court sentenced on Tuesday ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria's 14-year war that left about half a million people dead and millions displaced.
Also sentenced to death in the same case were al-Assad's younger brother Maher — also in absentia — and maternal cousin Atef Najib, who attended the trial.
Najib was found guilty of leading the crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war.
Amid tight security, Najib stood in a cage wearing a prisoner's uniform as the judge read the sentence.
Bashar and Maher Al-Assad fled to Russia after opposition fighters led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa marched into Damascus in December 2024, effectively ending the war in the country.
Najib was later detained and became one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial.
Najib is a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria's Daraa province under Assad in 2011.
Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.
