Bashar Assad, eight others sentenced to death in landmark Syria trial

A Syrian court sentenced ousted president Bashar al-Assad, former security chief Atef Najib and seven other former officials to death on Tuesday over the violent suppression of protests in Daraa at the start of the 2011 uprising.

The Damascus Criminal Court convicted the nine men of offences including intentional killing, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.

Najib, who is in Syrian custody, was sentenced in person, while Assad and the remaining defendants were sentenced in absentia.

Those sentenced also included Assad’s brother Maher, former defence minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Mohammed Ayman Ayoush, Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Fares al-Issami.

The ruling marks the first conviction against Assad since his government was overthrown in December 2024, ending more than five decades of Assad family rule.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Assad’s role in the crimes was that of the “highest decision-maker”, accusing him of placing state institutions at the disposal of the crackdown.

The court found Assad guilty of the intentional killing of multiple people, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.

Najib, Assad’s maternal cousin and the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, was convicted over his role in the crackdown on protesters in the southern province, where the uprising against Assad’s rule began in 2011.

The judge said investigations and witness testimony showed that Najib had been involved in interrogating detainees after the protests began and had led security operations against civilians in Daraa.

The court also said the Political Security Branch under Najib’s command took part in the storming of the Omari Mosque alongside other security agencies.

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

The court described the acts attributed to him as crimes against humanity and imposed the death penalty.

Najib stood inside a courtroom cage wearing a prison uniform as the sentence was read.

Tuesday’s ruling came during the ninth session of his trial, which began on 26 April before the Fourth Criminal Court at the Damascus Palace of Justice.

The proceedings were among the first public trials of senior figures from the former Assad government under Syria’s new authorities.

Najib’s case was heard in person, while the court formally recorded the absence of Assad and the other defendants who remain fugitives.

During previous hearings, prosecutors had called for the death penalty against Najib, while the court heard witness testimony and examined evidence related to abuses committed during the early stages of the uprising.

The final session was attended by Syria’s public prosecutor, Hassan al-Turba, the head of the National Commission for Transitional Justice, Abdul Basit Abdul Latif, members of the commission, representatives of international legal and humanitarian organisations and relatives of victims.

Najib served as head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa between 2008 and 2011 and became one of the most notorious security officials associated with the government’s response to the first anti-Assad demonstrations.

He was later detained after Assad’s fall, becoming one of the highest-ranking former officials to stand trial before a Syrian court.

Assad and Maher fled Syria after rebel forces entered Damascus in December 2024.

Bashar al-Assad had ruled Syria since 2000, succeeding his father Hafez al-Assad.

His government’s violent response to peaceful protests in 2011 helped trigger a conflict that lasted more than a decade and killed hundreds of thousands of people.