A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is torn down in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Nov. 30, 2024. (Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher and several other former officials to death in absentia for crimes committed during the civil war, marking the first convictions of members of the former regime. The transitional authorities, who overthrew Assad in December 2024 after a 13-year civil war, have pledged to ensure justice for the crimes committed.
The trial of Bashar al-Assad and other officials began in April. The deposed president, who fled to Moscow in December 2024 as Islamist-led forces advanced on Damascus, was tried in absentia.
The Damascus court found him guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including "premeditated murder, intentional killing of multiple people, intentional killing of children under the age of 15, torture resulting in death, and deprivation of liberty."
"He is therefore sentenced to death," Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan declared.
Dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse, carrying photos of loved ones who disappeared or were imprisoned under the former regime, and erupted in joy at the announcement of the verdict. Many had come from Daraa, the cradle of the uprising, including Ramzi Abu Naboud, who held a portrait of his brother Ahmed, killed during the crackdown on a demonstration in his city in 2011.
"I thank God and the justice system; today we have obtained a judgment that has warmed our hearts, even if it will not bring back those who were killed," he told AFP.
Only 1 defendant present
Since late April, the tribunal has heard witnesses and been presented with classified documents, images and information, while the judge's statements have sometimes been broadcast on television.
In addition to the former president, the tribunal sentenced several former military and security officials to death in absentia, including Bashar al-Assad's brother, Maher, who headed an elite army division.
Former Defense Minister Fahd al-Freij and Louay al-Ali, who headed military intelligence in Daraa province, were also convicted. They were found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including "murder, torture resulting in death, and repeated deprivation of liberty."
The only defendant to appear in court, Atef Najib, was sentenced to death for "crimes against humanity" committed when he was head of political security in Daraa, where security forces had used live ammunition to suppress peaceful demonstrations. The court emphasized that he had denied the charges, showing "no remorse." His conviction is "an important milestone in the process of holding those responsible for major crimes accountable," the Syrian National Commission for Transitional Justice stated.
Those convicted have 30 days to appeal, Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais told state television.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), which attended several hearings, considered these initial convictions a "test" of the Syrian authorities' willingness to prosecute abuses committed under Bashar al-Assad's rule.
The process must "meet international standards in terms of fair trials, which also means abolishing the death penalty," it also noted in a statement.
'15 years of suffering'
The outpourings of joy outside the courthouse, broadcast on social media, "reflect 15 years of suffering," Hiba Zayadin, Syria specialist for the organization, wrote on X."Only a sustainable judicial system can ensure that justice is effectively served," she added.
The Syrian civil war was triggered by the bloody repression of pro-democracy demonstrations in the wake of the Arab Spring, a wave of uprisings against established powers across the region. More than half a million people have been killed and millions more displaced in Syria. Tens of thousands have disappeared, many victims of widespread abuses in the regime's prisons.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez in 2000, brought an end to more than half a century of unchallenged rule by his family clan.
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