Syria sentences Bashar Assad to death in absentia

SYRIA: A SYRIAN court on Tuesday sentenced former President Bashar Assad to death in absentia.

Assad was ousted in December 2024 after rebel forces swept into Damascus, ending more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.

He fled to Russia, where he was granted asylum, while Syria’s new authorities have begun pursuing former officials over alleged crimes committed during the country’s civil war.

The court also handed the death penalty to Atef Najib, a senior security official under Assad’s rule and a cousin of the former dictator. He was arrested while trying to flee the country in January 2025.