Bashar al-Assad, Atef Najib sentenced to death in landmark Syria trial

The former Syrian leader has been convicted of premeditated murder, torture and crimes against humanity.

Syria’s former President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad and cousin Atef Najib have been sentenced to death after being convicted of crimes during the country’s nearly 14-year war.

The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus on Tuesday found Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December 2024 and now lives in exile in Russia, guilty of premeditated murder, torture and crimes against humanity, and sentenced him to death in absentia.

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The court also sentenced his younger brother Maher al-Assad, also now living in Russia, to death in absentia for premeditated murder and torture.

Najib, the former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province, who was arrested in January last year, was sentenced to death for “crimes against humanity”.

Najib, who launched a deadly crackdown on protesters in Deraa in 2011, which led to the uprising and later civil war, stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence.

His crimes include murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15” and “torture leading to death”, according to the court.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Najib had denied the charges against him and showed “no remorse”.

Several other former military and security officials who fled Syria were sentenced to death in absentia, including al-Assad’s Defence Minister Fahd al-Freij and his military intelligence chief in Deraa in 2011, Louay al-Ali.

‘Healing process’

The ruling against al-Assad and his relatives is the first under the transitional authorities who began trying figures from the former government this year.

Addressing the court, Judge al-Aryan said witness testimony established the former Syrian leader’s role in the crimes as “the highest decision-maker” and that he had used state institutions to facilitate their commission.

Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto, reporting from the Syrian capital, Damascus, said the ruling “is going to bring a lot of relief to the Syrian people”, contributing to their “healing process”.

“This is something they’ve waited for a long time,” Hitto said. “They want to see these people that tortured their children, displaced them from their homes and destroyed their communities be held to account for these crimes.”

“This is a historic moment for Syria,” he added.

A crowd gathered outside the Damascus court after the sentencing, with some people holding up pictures of victims of torture and killings during the war.

Hitto said the verdict would also set a strong legal precedent for others accused of crimes under al-Assad’s rule.

“People across Syrian towns are looking for justice, not just for al-Assad, but for the executioners,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid.

Syria has repeatedly demanded that Russia extradite al-Assad, a longtime ally of Moscow who reportedly now lives a life of luxury in the Russian capital.

But despite nurturing ties with Syria’s new government, Moscow has so far refused to extradite al-Assad, whom it has granted asylum.

Hitto said Moscow is unlikely to reverse course on al-Assad, barring “a major political breakthrough between the two countries”.

However, he said other al-Assad-era officials residing elsewhere, such as in Lebanon, could potentially be returned.

“The Syrian government has been working with Lebanese officials to identify individuals who are currently in Lebanon to bring them back to the country,” said Hitto, adding that Damascus is calling on countries where wanted al-Assad-era officials “are either in hiding or being detained” to send them back to Syria.