Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Sentenced to Death in Absentia by Damascus Court
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, citing Al Jazeera via Mehr News Agency, the Damascus Criminal Court has issued an in absentia ruling sentencing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death on alleged charges of premeditated murder and torture. The court also handed down the maximum penalty to Atef Najib, former head of political security in Daraa, for alleged torture of detainees in Syria.
The ruling further condemned Maher al-Assad, brother of Bashar al-Assad, to death on charges of premeditated murder and torture. The court claimed that the actions of the Assad regime in Daraa in 2011 constitute war crimes.
The presiding judge stated that decisions were made to convict Maher al-Assad, Fahd Jassim al-Freij, Mohammed Ayman Ayyoub, Louay Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser, and Talal Faris al-Assimi of premeditated murder and death-causing torture, sentencing them to execution.
