In a criminal court sitting in Damascus, Syria’s former president, Bashar Al-Assad, was sentenced to death in absentia on Tuesday for premeditated murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This is the first conviction since Syria’s transition government came into power after the fall of Assad’s regime in December 2024. Also sentenced to death was the former political security chief of Deraa, Atef Najib, for systematically torturing and murdering during initial anti-government crackdowns.
Start of the judicial process under the transitional government
The fourth criminal court sitting in Damascus sought to punish top members of the former regime by handing down the historic ruling against key figures from the former regime.
Even though the fugitive former president is still in exile in Russia, the transitional government assured that there will be international arrest warrants to help enforce the court’s mandate.
Bashar Al-Assad: In absentia death sentence because of the murder of civilians by directing war crimes for 13 years of civil war.
Atef Najib: For directing deadly suppression in Deraa, which sparked off the uprising in 2011.
From Damascus collapse to Russia asylum
Assad was in power for 24 years until December 8, 2024, when the opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an assault from Idlib and took over Damascus.
In a speech via Telegram after his flight from the capital, Assad said his leaving the city happened spontaneously after the collapse of his military command. He was immediately escorted from a coastal airbase in Latakia to Moscow in exile, where he is presently living.
Post-Assad transition led by Ahmed al-Sharaa
After Assad’s removal, transitional leader Ahmed al-Sharaa promised total justice for all crimes committed under the auspices of the state.
Al-Sharaa made his mark in history by being the first Syrian leader in sixty years to speak at the UN General Assembly, asking for an end to global sanctions. The U.S. government withdrew the foreign terrorist designation from HTS in diplomatic reconfiguration amid the new government in Damascus.
