Syria's al-Assad sentenced to death in absentia

Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to death in absentia, after a Syrian court convicted him over charges of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" during the country's civil war.

The ruling against al-Assad, who fled with his family to Moscow as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus in December 2024, is the first under the transitional authorities who this year began trying figures from the former government, both in person and in absentia.

Assad-era official Atif Najib was also sentenced to death for "crimes against humanity" committed when he was head of political security in Daraa province, the cradle of the country's 2011 uprising.

The court convicted Najib, a cousin of al-Assad and arrested in January last year, of crimes including murder, "the intentional killing of children under 15", and "torture leading to death".

The acts attributed to him are "crimes against humanity", the court said as it handed down "the harshest punishment against him, which is the death penalty".