ALBAWABA - Damascus Criminal Court handed over on Tuesday death sentence against former Syrian President Bashar Assad and former military officer Maher Assad amid crimes during the 14-year Syrian civil war that left about half a million people dead.
On Tuesday, the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus issued a death sentence in absentia against the ousted President Bashar Assad and his brother, Maher. In addition, it sentenced Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security branch in Daraa, to death during his appearance before the court.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, said in statements carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), "The court convicts Bashar Assad of the premeditated murder of more than one person, including children, and of torture, arbitrary detention, and crimes against humanity, and sentences him to death."
The judge further noted that "investigations and witness testimonies proved the involvement of the defendant, Atef Najib, in the interrogation of a number of detainees following the start of the protests in Daraa," adding that "the actions attributed to him, according to the investigations and witness testimonies, constitute crimes against humanity… and therefore the court convicts Atef Najib and sentences him to death."
Maher Assad is a Syrian former military officer who served as commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Division.
He and his brother Bashar fled to Russia along with other members of the family following the collapse of the regime on December 8, 2024, ending over five decades of Assad rule.
