DAMASCUS: Bashar Assad’s 24-year rule of Syria ended abruptly in December 2024 following a lightning advance by rebel forces who struck while the Russian and Iranian allies who had backed him through years of civil war were distracted by conflicts elsewhere. He fled to Moscow, ending more than five decades of iron-fisted rule by his family and opening a new chapter for Syria. The historic shift was underscored on Tuesday when a Damascus court sentenced him to death in his absence for crimes including killings, arbitrary arrests and torture during the years in which he clung to power.

A criminal court in Damascus sentenced former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes…

Bashar and Maher Assad remain in Russia after fleeing Syria following the collapse of their government. Syria's new authorities have called on Moscow to extradite them to face…