Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was sentenced to death in absentia in his country for “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” committed during the civil war in Syria during his government. This is the first verdict against Assad since his ouster. The information was confirmed by the Syrian state agency A lot.
The former president is currently in Moscow, Russia, where he gained political asylum from President Vladimir Putin after his ouster in December 2024.
The Syrian criminal court’s decision also sentenced Assad’s cousin, Atef Najib, to death. Under the former president’s government, he headed the political security directorate in the southern province of Daraa. Najib was detained in Syria in January 2025.
Bashar al-Assad ruled Syria from 2000 to December 2024. The Assad dynasty regime came to an end after anti-government forces took Damascus during an offensive in December 2024 and announced the overthrow of the regime. Since then, Assad has lived with his family under political asylum in Russia.
In October 2025, the media reported that Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, demanded that Moscow extradite Assad.
At the end of last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Assad and his family were in Russia exclusively “for humanitarian reasons” and that they had “no problems” living in the capital. At the beginning of 2026, the chancellor stated that the extradition of the former president of Russia to Syria had not been discussed for a long time.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had also denied that Assad’s extradition was discussed during talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Moscow on January 28.
Commenting on the possible consequences of Bashar al-Assad’s conviction, the vice-chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the State Duma (lower house of the Russian parliament), Alexei Chepa, stated that the former Syrian president’s sentence represents a threat particularly to his cousin, Atef Najib.
According to the member of the Russian parliament, cited by the portal Lenta.ruBashar al-Assad is “completely safe”.
“Of course this poses a threat, especially to your cousin. But I’m absolutely certain that he [Bashar al-Assad] is completely safe. Despite the terrible sentence, he is not in any danger,” he said.
Russian military bases in Syria
The decision on Bashar al-Assad’s sentence comes in the context of a recent understanding between Moscow and Damascus on the future of Russian military bases in the Arab country. Last Sunday (9), Russia and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding dedicated to the reorganization and legitimization of the Russian military presence in the country.
According to this document, Russian military bases established during the Bashar al-Assad regime are being redesignated as joint training centers.
Russia maintains two important military installations in Syria: the Tartus naval base, established during the Cold War, and the Hmeimim air base, created in 2015 to support Bashar al-Assad during the civil war. The military presence consolidated Moscow’s influence in the Middle East and guaranteed a strategic access point to the Mediterranean.
With the fall of Bashar al-Assad, maintaining these bases became one of the most important points in the Kremlin’s strategy in redesigning relations with Damascus under the new government.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
