A criminal court in Damascus on Tuesday sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia after convicting them of crimes against humanity and other offences, the SANA news agency reported, Anadolu reports.
The Fourth Criminal Court also sentenced Assad’s cousin Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, and six other fugitives – Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Mohammed Ayman Ayoush, Louay al-Ali, Qusai Ibrahim Mhayoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Fares al-Asimi – to death.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Assad’s role in the crimes was that of “the highest decision-maker,” adding that he had used state institutions to facilitate their commission.
The court convicted Assad of premeditated murder of multiple victims, including children, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to death in absentia.
The court also convicted Najib, who is in detention, of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death, while Maher al-Assad and the six other fugitives were convicted of premeditated murder, torture resulting in death and crimes against humanity, according to SANA.
