Damascus court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death

A court in Damascus has sentenced nine senior officials from Syria’s former government to death, including former President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and security official Atef Najib, AzerNEWS reports, citing the National News.

Atef Najib attended the trial in person, while the other defendants were tried in absentia. The Fourth Criminal Court also ordered that Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad be placed on an international wanted list.

The court found Bashar al-Assad guilty of the intentional killing of numerous people, including children, as well as torture, unlawful detention, and crimes against humanity.

Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia in December 2024.

Atef 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.