Syrians gathered outside the Palace of Justice in Damascus on Tuesday, to celebrate death sentences issued against ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his brother as well as other former regime officials, Anadolu reports.
A criminal court in Damascus on Tuesday sentenced Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia after convicting them of crimes against humanity and other offenses, the SANA news agency reported.
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.
