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Along with Bashar al-Assad and his brother, Maher, death sentence was also given to Atef Najib, an Assad-era security official in Deraa, where the first protests erupted in 2011
Atef Najib stood inside a heavily guarded courtroom cage in a prisoner’s uniform to receive his sentence. (News18 File)
A Syrian court sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death after a trial in absentia on Tuesday, convicting them of crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country’s nearly 14-year war. A death sentence was also handed down to Atef Najib, an Assad-era security official in the southern province of Deraa, where the first protests against Assad erupted in 2011.
While Assad and his brother were sentenced in absentia due to their exile in Russia, Najib, their maternal cousin, stood inside a heavily guarded courtroom cage in a prisoner’s uniform to receive his sentence. Detained by Syrian security forces in early 2025, he was the only accused to be tried in person.
Assad fled the capital Damascus as rebel fighters closed in nearly two years ago, and is currently in Russia, where he and his family were granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. It was the first Syrian conviction against Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024 that ended decades of his family’s iron-fisted rule over Syria, and the brutal war that killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians.
Syrians gathered around the court in Damascus, chanting, clapping and waving the Syrian flag as news of the sentences spread.
THE SENTENCING
A judge handed down a death sentence to the former president over the crimes of “premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children, torture, arbitrary arrest and crimes against humanity”.
The judge issued the same sentence in absentia to Assad’s brother Maher, who headed the fearsome Fourth Armoured Division, which was responsible for crackdowns on protests, recapturing Syrian territory on behalf of Assad and was accused of spearheading the production and trade of drugs to enrich Assad.
WHO IS ATEF NAJIB?
During the onset of the Arab Spring in 2011, Najib was a Syrian army brigadier general serving as the head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa province, southern Syria, according to Al Jazeera, Reuters and other reports.
He is widely regarded by experts as the primary catalyst who ignited the Syrian civil war. In early 2011, his forces arrested and brutally tortured 15 schoolboys who had spray-painted anti-regime graffiti on a wall in Daraa. Among the victims was 15-year-old Hamza al-Khatib, who was tortured to death.
When the local elders and fathers of the boys went to Najib to beg for their release, Najib reportedly mocked them with deep arrogance, telling them to forget their children and make new ones.
This response provoked massive, peaceful street demonstrations in Daraa. When Najib’s forces opened live fire on the protesters, it triggered a massive cycle of violence that quickly escalated into a 14-year nationwide civil war.
CHARGES AND CONVICTION
Najib was tried before the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus in a landmark transitional justice case that began on April 26, 2026. Over 70 victims and plaintiffs traveled to the capital to testify against him. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity, with specific convictions including:
- Premeditated murder and the intentional killing of children under the age of 15.
- Orchestrating systematic torture leading to death.
- Leading bloody military and security campaigns against civilians.
The presiding judge noted during the sentencing that Najib denied all charges and showed absolutely no remorse for his actions.
CAPTURE BY AUTHORITIES
Following the sudden collapse and ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, Najib initially fled the country but later slipped back into Syria. He was tracked down and arrested by transitional security forces in Latakia province on January 31, 2025.
As he did not successfully escape to Russia like Bashar al-Assad, he remained in domestic custody throughout his trial, said reports.
With agency inputs
About the Author
At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci…Read More
August 11, 2026, 5:54 PM IST
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