WorldBashar Assad, Syria’s ousted former president, has been sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes. The verdict prompted victims’ families and supporters to gather outside a courthouse in Damascus. Those assembled celebrated the ruling against Assad. Syrians also reacted to the death sentence handed down by the court.
The Associated Press
WorldNearly two years after Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell, Syria has issued its first major verdict against former rulers. A court in Damascus sentenced Assad and eight other former regime officials to death. The convictions concern crimes including murder, torture and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during Syria’s nearly 14-year war. The ruling marks a significant judicial action against the former leadership.
WorldSednaya prison, near Damascus, was known in Syria as a “human slaughterhouse.” Thousands were held there during Bashar al-Assad’s rule. Following the fall of the Assad regime, Al Jazeera spoke with former prisoners who were released from the facility. Kanaan Mohamed, arrested in Aleppo in 2006, spent six years in detention, including three and a half years at Sednaya. The report contains descriptions that some viewers may find distressing.
WorldSyrian analyst Gamal Mansour says Atef Najib came to represent the repression and abuse associated with the Assad regime. He describes Najib’s trial as an important initial move toward transitional justice in Syria. Mansour warns, however, that the absence of a special tribunal for crimes against humanity remains a major obstacle. The assessment presents the trial as meaningful while stressing that serious institutional gaps persist.
WorldThe final ruling in the case against former Syrian security official Atef Najib is expected on Tuesday. He is accused of directing the crackdown in Deraa in 2011. Najib, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad and former head of Deraa’s political security, is the only defendant attending the proceedings. Bashar and Maher al-Assad are among those being tried in absentia. Al Jazeera reports from Deraa, Syria.
WorldSyria’s former president Bashar al-Assad and Atef Najib, who previously led political security in the southern province of Deraa, have received death sentences. The ruling comes in what is described as a landmark trial in Syria. Al Jazeera reporter Obaida Hitto is providing a live report from the country. The case places both former officials at the centre of a major legal proceeding.