Damascus: A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after convicting him guilty of war crimes and crimes against
humanity committed during the country's 14-year civil war. According to reports, the conflict had claimed about half a million people lives. Assad's maternal cousin Atef Najib was also sentenced to death for leading the crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war, reported The Associated Press. Notably, Najib was inside the court as the judge read the sentence. Meanwhile, Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after insurgents took over Damascus in December 2024. Najib was later detained and became one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial. Najib is a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria's Daraa province under Assad in 2011. Assad's escape to Russia had marked the collapse of his 24-year rule and the end of Syria's 13-year civil war. Rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized his Damascus palace, raiding a massive garage filled with luxury cars, including Ferraris, Aston Martins, Rolls-Royces, and BMWs. (More to follow...)
