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The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus delivered death sentences against Bashar al-Assad and Atef Najib on Tuesday after convicting them on multiple charges that included premeditated murder and torture. Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, who presided over the proceedings, stated that the court had unanimously found al-Assad guilty of the intentional and premeditated killing of multiple people including children in addition to torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity. Najib, a former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa province who appeared in court, received the death penalty after conviction for murder, torture and incitement to murder while the rulings formed the outcome of the case’s ninth session.
Maher al-Assad, brother of the former president and former commander of the Fourth Division, was also sentenced to death in absentia along with Fahd Jassem al-Freij, a onetime defense minister. The court convicted Mohammad Ayman Ayoush, Louay al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Fares al-Asimi of premeditated murder and torture leading to death, according to the judge’s announcement. All the additional defendants were tried as fugitives, the Damascus court reported.
Abdul Basit Abdul Latif, president of the National Commission for Transitional Justice, described the ruling as a watershed moment in the path toward ensuring justice for victims and strengthening the rule of law. The commission head spoke following the session that concluded the latest round of proceedings against former regime figures. Abdul Latif has led the body since its creation in May 2025 to document abuses from the Assad era, Syrian state media previously reported.
A United Nations Human Rights Office report published in 2022 estimated that more than 306,000 civilians were killed in Syria between March 2011 and March 2021. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights placed the overall conflict death toll at roughly 650,000 by March 2025, according to its updated tallies. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has documented systematic use of torture, arbitrary arrests and attacks on civilians by state forces throughout the war, lending legal weight to many of the charges heard in Damascus.
The verdicts come more than 18 months after opposition forces seized Damascus in December 2024, ending more than five decades of Assad family rule and prompting the former president to flee abroad. Najib’s role in Daraa at the start of the 2011 protests has long been cited in accounts of the initial crackdown that escalated into full-scale civil war. The current proceedings form part of transitional justice efforts that the National Commission for Transitional Justice has pursued since its establishment last year.
Further sessions in linked cases against additional former officials remain on the court calendar in the weeks ahead, judicial sources indicated. The Fourth Criminal Court has emphasised that the convictions rest on evidence presented across multiple hearings. Abdul Latif’s commission continues to compile victim testimonies and records as part of wider accountability initiatives across Syria.
