Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death over killings, torture — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, convicting him of crimes including killings, torture and arbitrary arrest during the country’s nearly 14-year war, Reuters reported. It was the first conviction against Assad in Syria since he was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024, ending his family’s decades-long rule in the country. Assad fled the capital, Damascus, after forces led by current Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa approached the city. He is currently in Moscow. During a trial of former government officials on Tuesday, a judge sentenced Assad to death for “premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children, torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity.” The same sentence was handed down in absentia to Assad’s brother, Maher al-Assad, who headed the Fourth Armoured Division, which was involved in crackdowns on protests and military operations during the war. Atef Najib, a former Assad-era security official in the southern province of Deraa, was also sentenced to death. Najib, a cousin of the Assad family, was the only defendant tried in person. Syrians gathered outside the court in Damascus, chanting, clapping and waving the Syrian flag after news of the sentences spread. Bashar al-Assad became president in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled…