Syria court sentences Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death in absentia - BBC News

The ex-president is convicted of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country's civil war.

Image source, ReutersBySamantha Granville and Alys DaviesPublished11 August 2026, 10:42 BSTUpdated 1 minute agoA Syrian court has sentenced ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, after convicting him of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country's civil war.

It is the first conviction against Assad, who fled from Damascus to the Russian capital, Moscow, with his family after his regime was overthrown in December 2024, ending his family's five-decade grip on power.

Assad's cousin and the former head of political security in southern Syria's Deraa province, Atef Najib, was also sentenced to death. He appeared wearing a striped prison uniform inside a cage in the courtroom as the judge read out his sentence.

Deraa is widely seen as the birthplace of the uprising against Assad's rule.

In March 2011, the detention and alleged torture of a group of teenagers accused of writing anti-government graffiti sparked protests in the city, which were met with a violent crackdown by security forces.