The Fourth Criminal Court in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Tuesday sentenced former dictator Bashar Assad to death in absentia for “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” perpetrated during the brutal 14-year civil war he waged to stay in power, with copious assistance from his patrons in Iran and Russia.
Assad suddenly lost the war in December 2024, when an alliance of insurgents and jihadis stormed Damascus and drove him into exile in Russia. He has reportedly been living comfortably in Moscow ever since, although he might be feeling a little nervous these days, as Russian President Vladimir Putin negotiates with the new government to retain control of key Russian military bases.
The Syrian junta, led by former al-Qaeda lieutenant Ahmed al-Sharaa, created a “National Commission for Transitional Justice” to bring at least symbolic justice to members of the vicious Assad regime.
The court on Tuesday handed down death sentences to nearly a dozen regime officials, with Bashar Assad held responsible above all, for ordering state institutions to commit crimes against humanity. Most of the defendants were convicted in absentia and declared fugitives from justice.
Besides Assad, the biggest name on the docket was Atef Najib, the dictator’s maternal cousin. Najib was the security chief of the Syrian city of Daraa in 2011 when the regime’s crackdown on dissidents began, quickly spiraling into a mass uprising and a civil war that killed half a million people.
Among the charges against Najib were “torture leading to death” and “the intentional killing of children under 15.” One of the inciting incidents of the Syrian civil war was Najib ordering the arrest, torture, and murder of a group of teenagers for spray-painting graffiti that said “Your Turn Is Coming, Doctor.” (Bashar Assad is a trained ophthalmologist, a trade he reportedly returned to after he was overthrown). Najib’s brutal suppression of protests against the death of the teenagers triggered a nationwide uprising against the regime.
Unlike most of the other defendants on Tuesday, Najib is in custody, having been arrested in January 2025. He sat in a cage during the trial, a focus of hatred for many of those who loathe the regime and who despair of ever seeing Bashar Assad in a courtroom.
Al Jazeera correspondent Obaida Hitto described the trial in Damascus as part of the “healing process” for the Syrian people.
“This is something they’ve waited for a long time. They want to see these people that tortured their children, displaced them from their homes, and destroyed their communities be held to account for these crimes. This is a historic moment for Syria,” Hitto said.
“Today, justice has prevailed for the victims of crimes and violations committed against Syrians,” declared Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab on Tuesday.
“Congratulations to the Syrian people on the issuance of the first death sentences against the perpetrators of these crimes, in a historic step toward redressing victims and holding those responsible accountable,” he said.
“We will continue pursuing everyone involved in these crimes until they receive their just punishment,” he promised.
Although Russia is still reluctant to extradite Bashar Assad, Al Jazeera reported that efforts are underway by the Syrian government to persuade Lebanon to arrest and extradite some of the other high-level defendants.
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