A court in Damascus in Syria on Tuesday sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death. The court sentenced him after finding him guilty in a case of pre-planned murder. Apart from them, the court has also sentenced Atif Najeeb, former head of political security in Syria’s Daraa province, to death.
A court in Syria’s capital, Damascus, on Tuesday convicted the country’s former President Bashar al-Assad and sentenced him to death on the serious charge of premeditated murder. In its decision, the court also sentenced Assad to death as well as Atif Najib, the former head of the political security department in Daraa province, on charges of premeditated murder and torture. The decision pertains to cases that relate to atrocities allegedly committed against opposition activists, protesters and civilians during the Assad regime.
The court clearly said that both the accused, while in power, deliberately and systematically got people killed and tortured. Najib was accused of playing an active role in the brutal actions taken by security forces during the 2011 protests, particularly in Daraa province. Daraa was the area from where the first large-scale mass movement against the Assad regime began.
Became President in 2000
The rise to power of Bashar al-Assad has been an important chapter in Syrian politics. He became president in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez al-Assad. At that time many observers saw him as a young, modern-minded and reformist leader. He had shown signs of some economic liberalization and limited political openness. But in 2011, when massive peaceful demonstrations against his rule broke out across the country in the wake of the Arab Spring, Assad used the military, intelligence agencies and security forces to crush them harshly. Security forces fired on protesters, made mass arrests and cordoned off several areas.
Syria embroiled in civil war
This crackdown further fueled the protests and Syria gradually descended into a long, complex, and extremely destructive civil war. During the war, millions of civilians were killed, crores of people were forced to leave their homes and become refugees and the country’s infrastructure was almost completely destroyed. International organizations and human rights groups have seriously accused the Assad regime of using chemical weapons against its own people, indiscriminate bombing, mass graves, torture in prisons, and war crimes.
Former President living in Russia
The situation suddenly changed in December 2024. Syrian rebel forces advanced rapidly and captured Damascus, leading to the fall of the Assad government. On the night of 8 December 2024, Bashar al-Assad secretly fled Syria with the help of the Russian army. Russian President Vladimir Putin granted him and his family political asylum. Since then the Assad family has been living in Moscow as political refugees.
