By Karim Were
DAMASCUS — A Syrian court has sentenced former president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia over crimes committed during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war, marking the first conviction of the ousted ruler since his government was toppled in December 2024.
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The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus also sentenced Assad’s younger brother, Maher al-Assad, to death in absentia and handed the same sentence to Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and former head of political security in the southern province of Deraa. Najib was present in court when the verdict was delivered.
The verdict represents a major step in Syria’s efforts to hold senior figures of the former regime accountable for abuses committed during the conflict. It also presents a significant legal and diplomatic challenge because Assad and Maher remain outside Syria, with Assad living in Russia. ([Reuters][1])
The case is particularly significant for Deraa, where Najib served as a senior security official and where the events of 2011 helped trigger the nationwide uprising against Assad’s rule.
#Assad remains in Russia
Assad was removed from power in December 2024 after opposition forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa swept through Syria in an 11-day offensive that culminated in the fall of Damascus.
He and members of his family fled the capital and later received asylum in Russia, where he has remained beyond the reach of Syria’s transitional authorities.
The new Syrian authorities have previously sought legal action against Assad. An arrest warrant was issued against him last December over charges including murder and torture. ([Reuters][1])
The latest death sentence, however, creates a new challenge for Damascus because a sentence issued in absentia cannot easily be enforced without custody of the convicted person.
It remains unclear whether Russia would agree to hand Assad over to Syria.
The question of extradition is therefore likely to become an important part of the aftermath of the verdict, particularly as Syria’s transitional authorities seek to establish accountability for senior figures of the former government.
#Najib sentenced over Deraa crackdown
Najib’s conviction has particular significance because of his position in Deraa at the beginning of the Syrian uprising.
He was formerly the head of the Political Security branch in Deraa, where security forces confronted demonstrations in 2011.
The Fourth Criminal Court convicted him of crimes including murder, the intentional killing of children under the age of 15 and torture leading to death, according to reports on the verdic reuters
Najib was arrested earlier this year after returning from Lebanon and became one of the most senior officials from the Assad-era security establishment to appear before a Syrian court.
He had denied the accusations during earlier proceedings and disputed responsibility for the shooting of protesters, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. ([Syrian Network for Human Rights][3])
His case began in April, when the Fourth Criminal Court opened proceedings against him alongside proceedings in absentia against Assad, Maher al-Assad and other former regime figures.
#Deraa and the beginning of the uprising
Deraa occupies an important place in Syria’s recent history.
In March 2011, demonstrations erupted in the city after a group of teenagers were detained after allegedly writing anti-government graffiti.
Reports of their detention and alleged mistreatment angered residents and contributed to demonstrations demanding political change.
The security response helped transform local protests into a broader national movement. As government forces attempted to suppress the demonstrations, unrest spread to other parts of Syria.
The confrontation eventually developed into a complex civil war involving government forces, opposition groups, extremist organisations and foreign powers.
The conflict lasted more than a decade and caused enormous human suffering, including mass displacement and widespread destruction.
The Associated Press estimates that around 500,000 people died during the conflict.
#A long road to accountability*
For victims and families affected by the conflict, the trial represents an important moment in the search for accountability.
For more than a decade, efforts to hold Assad and senior members of his government responsible for alleged abuses were pursued through different legal channels.
Syrian opposition figures and human rights groups also sought to bring cases against members of the former regime before courts in European countries.
Those efforts did not result in a conviction against Assad before his government fell.
The change of government in 2024 therefore created an opportunity for Syria’s new authorities to pursue cases domestically.
The transitional government began bringing former officials and security personnel before courts earlier this year as part of a wider process of transitional justice.
The trial of Najib was among the most prominent of these cases.
#The transitional justice challenge
Syria’s new leadership faces a difficult task in dealing with the legacy of more than five decades of Assad family rule.
Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, as president in 2000 and remained in power until the government’s collapse in December 2024.
His rule was characterised by strong central control, extensive security institutions and repeated suppression of political opposition.
The 2011 uprising fundamentally changed Syria, eventually drawing in regional and international powers and creating one of the world’s largest displacement crises.
The transitional authorities now face pressure to investigate alleged abuses while also preventing revenge attacks and maintaining stability in a country still recovering from years of conflict.
The prosecution of former officials is consequently both a legal process and a politically sensitive component of Syria’s transition.
#Questions over the court process
The proceedings have also attracted attention from human rights and legal organisations.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights has described the Najib case as an important test of the country’s new accountability mechanisms but has raised questions about the legal framework and procedural guarantees surrounding the proceedings. ([Syrian Network for Human Rights
Such concerns are significant because transitional justice processes are expected to establish accountability while also respecting defendants’ legal rights.
The credibility of the cases could influence how victims, Syrians and the international community assess the new government’s commitment to justice.
A process that is viewed as transparent and legally sound could strengthen confidence in Syria’s institutions. Conversely, questions about due process could complicate efforts to establish lasting accountability.
#Assad’s absence presents a major obstacle
The most immediate difficulty in Assad’s case is his location.
The former president was not in court when the sentence was delivered and remains in Russia.
The Syrian authorities can issue legal orders and seek international cooperation, but enforcing the sentence would require Assad to come under Syrian custody.
Russia’s decision to provide him asylum after the fall of his government has already complicated efforts to bring him before Syrian authorities.
There is no indication from the information available that Moscow has agreed to extradite him.
The death sentence therefore has an important symbolic and legal significance, but its practical enforcement remains uncertain.
#A first conviction against Assad
The verdict is nevertheless a significant development because it represents the first conviction against Assad since the fall of his regime.
The former president had faced international criticism and legal efforts for years over alleged abuses during the war, but none had previously resulted in a conviction against him.
The Syrian court’s ruling changes that position, at least within the country’s transitional judicial process.
It also places Assad’s case alongside the wider prosecution of senior members of his former government.
The sentence against Maher al-Assad is similarly significant. Maher, who commanded the Syrian Army’s 4th Armored Division, was one of the most powerful figures within the former military establishment and, like his brother, was sentenced in absentia.
#What the verdict means for victims*
For families who lost relatives during the conflict, the proceedings provide an opportunity to have their experiences formally examined by a court.
The participation of victims’ families in earlier sessions of the Najib trial reflected the importance attached to the proceedings by people from Deraa. Syrian authorities have presented the cases as part of a broader effort to uncover the truth and hold those responsible for abuses accountable. ([الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء – سانا]
However, a court verdict is only one part of the broader accountability process.
Victims and their families may also seek information about missing relatives, the location of remains, compensation and recognition of abuses committed during the conflict.
The transitional government will therefore face pressure to expand the justice process beyond a limited number of high-profile defendants.
#Implications for Syria’s future
The case could become an important test of how Syria deals with its past while attempting to build new political and judicial institutions.
Holding senior officials accountable could help victims feel that the abuses committed during the Assad era have not been forgotten.
At the same time, the government will need to demonstrate that prosecutions are based on evidence and established legal procedures rather than political retaliation.
That balance will be particularly important as Syria attempts to move away from decades of authoritarian rule and years of armed conflict.
The outcome could also affect Syria’s relations with foreign governments that are watching the country’s political transition and assessing the credibility of its new institutions
#Conclusion
The death sentence handed to Bashar al-Assad in absentia represents a landmark moment in Syria’s post-Assad transition.
For victims of the conflict, the verdict provides a formal judicial finding against a former president who ruled the country for nearly a quarter of a century and whose government fought to retain power after the 2011 uprising.
For Syria’s new authorities, however, the ruling is only an initial step in a much larger accountability process.
The immediate question is whether Assad can ever be brought back to Syria from Russia to face the sentence. Beyond his case, the government must determine how to pursue hundreds of other allegations involving former officials while ensuring that trials meet credible standards of justice.
The prosecution of Assad and Najib therefore carries significance beyond the courtroom. It is an early test of whether Syria’s new leadership can turn its promise of accountability into a judicial process capable of addressing the grievances left by a devastating war.
