By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Syria has sentenced ousted former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia over killings, torture and other crimes committed during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.
The verdict, delivered by a Syrian court on Tuesday is the first conviction against Assad since he was removed from power in December 2024 following a rebel offensive that ended his family’s decades-long rule.
Assad fled Damascus as rebel forces advanced on the capital and is believed to be currently living in Moscow.
The court found Assad guilty of premeditated and intentional murder, including the killing of multiple people and children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.
Atef Najib, a former security official who served under Assad, was also sentenced to death.
Assad, born in 1965, became President in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for nearly three decades.
His presidency was marked by the continued dominance of the Alawite sect in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country, as well as close ties with Iran and hostility towards Israel and the United States.
His rule is easily remembered for the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 after security forces violently suppressed protests demanding political reform, greater democracy and a shift from his family grip in power.
The conflict, which grew out of the wider Arab Spring uprisings, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and forced millions of Syrians from their homes.
