Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia
The ruling also includes Maher al-Assad and eight defendants total over murder, torture and crimes against humanity.
A court in Damascus, Syria, sentenced former president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. According to reports from SANA and Al Jazeera cited by Indonesian media, Assad was found guilty of premeditated murder, torture, kidnapping and crimes against humanity tied to the crackdown in Daraa Province in 2011, the start of Syria's civil war. The ruling also covers his brother, Maher al-Assad, and eight defendants in total. Former Daraa political security chief Atef Najib appeared at the hearing and was also sentenced to death. Assad was ousted in December 2024 after a rebel coalition led by Ahmed al-Sharaa seized Damascus. Assad and his family later fled to Moscow, Russia.