Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death
Bashar al-Assad. Picture: Reuters
Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad and his cousin Atef Najib have been sentenced to death over crimes committed during Syria’s civil war.
A criminal court in Damascus on Tuesday convicted Bashar al-Assad, who is living in exile in Russia, of premeditated murder, torture and crimes against humanity. The court sentenced him to death in absentia.
His younger brother, Maher al-Assad, was also sentenced to death in absentia for premeditated murder and torture. He is also currently living in Russia.
Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Division in southern Syria’s Daraa province, was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. Syrian authorities detained him in January last year.
Najib led a crackdown on protesters in Daraa in 2011. The crackdown later triggered an uprising and the civil war. He stood inside a cage wearing prison clothes when the verdict was announced on Tuesday. The judge announced his sentence.
The court said Najib’s crimes included murder, the ‘intentional killing of children under the age of 15’ and ‘torture with the intention of killing.’
The verdict against al Assad and his relatives is the first of its kind under the interim government. The current authorities began trials against officials from the former government earlier this year.
Speaking in court, Judge al-Aryan said witness testimony had established the former Syrian leader’s involvement in the crimes. He was the ‘highest decision maker’ and used state institutions to carry out those crimes.
Source: Al Jazeera (Adapted)
