A Syrian courtroom has sentenced ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad to dying in absentia, after convicting him of committing warfare crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity through the nation’s civil warfare.
It’s the first conviction in opposition to Assad, who fled from Damascus to the Russian capital, Moscow, together with his household after his regime was overthrown in December 2024, ending his household’s five-decade grip on energy.
Assad’s cousin and the previous head of political safety in southern Syria’s Deraa province, Atef Najib, was additionally sentenced to dying. He appeared carrying a striped jail uniform inside a cage within the courtroom because the decide learn out his sentence.
Deraa is broadly seen because the birthplace of the rebellion in opposition to Assad’s rule.
In March 2011, the detention and alleged torture of a bunch of youngsters accused of writing anti-government graffiti sparked protests within the metropolis, which have been met with a violent crackdown by safety forces.
That response helped ignite nationwide demonstrations that escalated into civil warfare wherein a whole lot of 1000’s of individuals have been killed.
Syria’s interim authorities started attempting officers related to the Assad regime, which dominated the nation for greater than 50 years, earlier this yr.
Najib is likely one of the highest-ranking officers to be placed on trial.
He was convicted of crimes together with homicide, “the intentional killing of youngsters beneath 15” and “torture resulting in dying”.
The courtroom additionally sentenced six former navy and safety officers in absentia to dying, together with Bashar al-Assad’s youthful brother, Maher. He ran the military’s elite Fourth Division and in addition fled to Moscow when the regime fell.
The others convicted embody former defence minister Fahd al-Freij.
Atef Najib appeared in a cage in courtroom throughout his sentencing on Tuesday [NurPhoto via GettyImages]
Outdoors the courthouse after the ruling, a whole lot of individuals of all ages gathered holding photos of their family members who have been killed by the regime.
Crowds have been clapping and chanting, whereas automobiles drove by excitedly honking their horns.
A gaggle of males handed out flags.
“The enjoyment is indescribable,” one man instructed the BBC, hoisting up a photograph of his late father. “God keen we’ll see Bashar al-Assad and all his aides hanging on the gallows.”
One other girl instructed the BBC everyone seems to be feeling a mixture of “victory and liberation.”
“The voices of the victims are lastly heard. Justice has been achieved!” she exclaimed.
Nouha al-Masri, a prosecutor within the case, misplaced her brother through the March 2011 crackdown and bloodbath at al-Omari Sq. in Deraa.
“We’ve been ready for 15 years to reclaim even a small a part of our rights, for all those that have spilled our blood, dedicated crimes, violated our rights, killed, and tortured us,” Masri – now a member of the prosecution staff, instructed the BBC.
“Our demand is that this not be the tip of the trials… Within the new Syria, there might be no impunity from at the present time ahead.”
It stays unclear whether or not Syria’s new authorities will have the ability to safe Bashar and Maher al-Assad’s extraditions from Moscow.
It’s not the primary transfer in opposition to Assad by Syria’s new management.
An arrest warrant was issued in opposition to him final December on costs of homicide and torture.
He left for Russia as forces beneath Ahmed al-Sharaa – now Syria’s president – swept to energy in a fast, 11-day marketing campaign that introduced down the Assad dynasty.
Since then, the brand new authorities has detained quite a few former officers and safety personnel, although most senior figures from the previous regime, together with Assad himself, stay out of attain in Russia.
Makes an attempt by Syrian opposition figures to pursue Assad by means of courts in Western international locations through the remaining years of his rule didn’t result in any convictions.
Assad got here to energy in 2000 after the dying of his father. The second son of Hafez al-Assad, he was not destined to be Syria’s ruler till his brother, Basil, died in a automotive crash in 1994.
A part of the Alawite minority, he continued to favour their dominance in lots of roles within the navy, safety and intelligence businesses.
A lot of his rule was outlined by the civil warfare.
Extra reporting by Lana Antaki in Damascus and Leen Alsaadi in Deraa.