Key facts
- A Damascus court sentenced Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad, and Atef Najib to death in absentia.
- Assad was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and torture.
- Assad fled to Moscow in December 2024 after rebel forces overthrew his regime.
- Evidence suggests a 'state-run machinery of death' operated under his government.
- France previously issued an arrest warrant for Assad over a 2012 bombing.
A Damascus court has sentenced ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and torture. The ruling follows the overthrow of his 24-year regime in December 2024 by rebel forces, prompting his flight to Moscow.
Assad's rule, which began in 2000 after succeeding his father Hafez, was marked by a brutal civil war that escalated from 2011 Arab Spring protests. His government was accused of using chemical weapons, drawing international condemnation. Rebel forces, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, advanced rapidly in late 2024, exploiting geopolitical distractions for his allies. Evidence emerging after Assad's fall has exposed what an international war crimes prosecutor described as a 'state-run machinery of death.' France had previously issued an arrest warrant for Assad over a 2012 bombing.