DAMASCUS — A Syrian court has sentenced six former military and security officials to death in absentia alongside ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher, expanding the country’s first major domestic prosecutions of senior figures from Assad’s former government.
The Damascus court issued the verdicts on Tuesday, convicting the defendants of crimes including premeditated murder, torture and crimes against humanity committed during Syria’s nearly 14-year conflict, according to court proceedings reported by state media and international news agencies. The rulings mark the first convictions against Assad and members of his inner circle since his government collapsed in December 2024.
Assad and Maher were sentenced in absentia because they fled Syria after rebel forces seized Damascus and later received asylum in Russia. The court’s ruling is therefore unlikely to result in their immediate detention or execution unless they are returned to Syrian custody.
The six other officials were also tried in absentia. They were described by the court as senior figures in the security and military structures of the former regime. Among those sentenced was former Defence Minister Fahd al-Freij, according to reports of the proceedings.
Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib was the only former senior official sentenced in the case who was in Syrian custody and present in court. Najib, a former army brigadier general who headed political security in the southern province of Daraa in 2011, was convicted over killings and torture linked to the crackdown on protests that helped trigger the uprising against Assad’s rule. Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Najib could appeal the sentence.
The proceedings have been presented by Syria’s transitional authorities as part of efforts to hold former regime figures accountable. But rights groups have raised concerns about the fairness and speed of the trials, particularly in Najib’s case.
Human Rights Watch said the proceedings raised questions about due process and argued that the death penalty should not be used, while the Syria Justice and Accountability Center said its trial monitors identified weaknesses in the defence and witness testimony.
The verdicts come as Syria continues to develop a transitional justice system following Assad’s overthrow. The country has yet to establish a comprehensive legal framework addressing crimes committed during the conflict, leaving questions over how further prosecutions will proceed.
