Syria's Bashar al-Assad, 8 other officials sentenced to death

by · UPI

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A court in Damascus on Tuesday sentenced the exiled former dictator Bashar al-Assad and eight ex-officials to death after finding them guilty of premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.

The sentences, the first since rebels toppled the regime in December 2024, were handed down in a trial presided over by the country's most senior judge, prosecuted by the attorney-general and the Commission for Transitional Justice and in the presence of victims' families and international human rights groups.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryran said Assad was convicted of crimes against humanity and other offenses as he was the ultimate decision-maker and that he was in charge of the state institutions that carried out the violations.

Atef Najib, Assad's cousin who served as the political security chief in the country's southern Daraa governorate, and brother, Maher Hafez al-Assad, were also sentenced to death along with Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Mohammad Ayman Ayoush, Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Fares al-Aysami.

Najib was convicted of murder, including "the intentional killing of children under 15" and "torture leading to death".

The verdict and sentences, were described as "an important step toward justice, redressing victims' rights and upholding the rule of law" by National Commission for Transitional Justice head Abdul Basit Abdul Latif.

However, the sentence is only likely to be carried out against Najib as both Assads are believed to be living in Moscow, having been granted asylum by Russia, and other six were also believed to have fled overseas.

Prosecutor and survivor Nouha al-Masri told the BBC she had been waiting for justice since her brother was killed in a brutal massacre in 2011 in Al-Omari Square in Deraa city, the epicenter of a nationwide uprising and subsequent civil war that eventually brought an end to the Assad dynasty's five decades of authoritarian rule.

Intially triggered by the detention and alleged torture of teenagers accused of anti-government graffiti, the Daraa protests spread across the country after those taking part were violently attacked by security forces.

"The verdict reflects the magnitude of the sacrifices we made, the sacrifices of the martyrs, the suffering and pain of the victims, the missing, and the detainees. We have been waiting for 15 years to reclaim even a small part of our rights, for all those who have spilled our blood, committed crimes, violated our rights, killed, and tortured us," said al-Masri.

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