Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death for crimes against humanity
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A Syrian court has sentenced ousted president Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria's 14-year civil war, which began in 2011 and killed an estimated half a million people. The ruling, handed down by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, marks the first sentence against Assad or a member of his inner circle since his family's five-decade grip on power collapsed in December 2024.
Assad fled Syria as his government fell, escaping to Moscow on a Russian military flight arranged by President Vladimir Putin, and has remained there since. As the sentence was passed in absentia, he is not expected to serve it, but the verdict stands as a significant symbolic milestone in efforts to hold the former ruling family legally accountable for atrocities committed during the conflict.
- Assad and brother sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity
- Damascus court's first ruling against Assad since his 2024 fall from power
- Assad fled to Moscow with Putin's help as his government collapsed
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Syria's civil war began in 2011, when protests against Assad's government were met with a violent crackdown that escalated into more than a decade of conflict, drawing in foreign powers and armed groups on multiple sides. Assad, whose family had ruled Syria since 1970, was accused throughout the war of ordering attacks on civilians, including the use of chemical weapons and mass detentions, though his government consistently denied wrongdoing. His rule ended when rebel forces swept into Damascus and he fled the country.
The case against him forms part of a wider effort to hold senior Syrian officials legally accountable for actions taken during the war, an effort that has gathered pace since his government's collapse made new evidence and witnesses more accessible. Trials of this kind often proceed in absentia when a defendant cannot be brought before the court in person.
This matters because it marks one of the clearest attempts yet to establish formal legal responsibility for events in a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, and because it raises questions about what accountability looks like when the person convicted remains outside the country and beyond immediate reach.
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The case for
Supporters of the verdict argue that Assad's government stands credibly accused of mass killings, chemical attacks, torture and enforced disappearances over more than a decade of civil war, and that a formal conviction offers victims and survivors a measure of acknowledgement long denied to them. They contend that holding a former head of state accountable, even in absentia, sends an important signal that atrocities carry legal consequences and helps establish an authoritative historical record. For many, the ruling represents a necessary step in Syria's transition towards justice and the rule of law after decades of unaccountable rule.
The case against
Sceptics, without denying the gravity of the alleged crimes, raise concerns about trying and sentencing a defendant in absentia, arguing that justice conducted without the accused present to mount a defence risks falling short of fair-trial standards and may be seen as symbolic rather than legally robust. Others question whether a court operating under a newly installed government can be seen as sufficiently independent, given the political interest the new authorities have in condemning their predecessor, and some object more broadly to the use of the death penalty regardless of the severity of the crimes. These critics worry that procedural shortcomings could undermine the verdict's legitimacy and complicate future efforts at national reconciliation.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Syria’s former ruler Bashar al-Assad is sentenced to death”.