Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes

On August 11, 2026, a Damascus court sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The landmark ruling, the first since the regime's December 2024 collapse, also sentenced cousin Atef Najib in person. While celebrated by many Syrians, human rights groups and legal experts raised concerns over rushed proceedings and noted that Russia is unlikely to extradite the exiled Assad brothers.

Assad death sentence verdict

• ▪Judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan stated during the televised court session that Bashar al-Assad used state agencies and institutions to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity as the highest decision-maker.
• ▪The death sentence against Bashar al-Assad is the first such ruling against him or his inner circle since his family's five-decade rule ended in December 2024.
• ▪A Syrian court in Damascus sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on August 11, 2026.
• ▪The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus convicted Bashar al-Assad of premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary arrest, and crimes against humanity committed during the 14-year civil war.

War crimes convictions

• ▪Maher al-Assad formerly commanded the Syrian military's elite 4th Armored Division, which was accused of killings, torture, extortion, drug trafficking, and running detention centers.
• ▪The Damascus court sentenced Bashar al-Assad's brother, Maher al-Assad, to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, and crimes against humanity.

Other officials sentenced

• ▪Atef Najib, who was arrested in January 2025, was the only defendant physically present in the courtroom during the trial and has the right to appeal within 30 days.
• ▪The Damascus court sentenced former Defense Minister Fahd al-Freij and former Daraa military intelligence chief Louay al-Ali to death in absentia.
• ▪The Damascus court sentenced former security official Atef Najib, a maternal cousin of Bashar al-Assad, to death in person for crimes against humanity, including the torture of children.

Assad exile in Russia

• ▪The Syrian government has demanded that Russia extradite Bashar al-Assad, but Russian authorities are considered unlikely to return him.
• ▪Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad fled to Russia and received political asylum after the Syrian government collapsed in December 2024.

Syrian civil war context

• ▪The Syrian civil war began after the 2011 arrest and torture of more than a dozen teenagers who wrote anti-government graffiti in Daraa, which was overseen by Atef Najib.
• ▪The 14-year Syrian civil war resulted in the deaths of approximately 500,000 people and the displacement of millions before Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024.