{"id":38763,"date":"2026-08-11T15:15:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38763"},"modified":"2026-08-11T15:15:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:15:47","slug":"former-syrian-president-assad-sentenced-to-death-in-absentia-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38763","title":{"rendered":"Former Syrian President Assad sentenced to death in absentia : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-138169\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" 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1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3000x2037+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fea%2F15%2Fe2a034034f6d9a840cb086c3b695%2Fap26223320881697.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3000x2037+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fea%2F15%2Fe2a034034f6d9a840cb086c3b695%2Fap26223320881697.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3000x2037+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fea%2F15%2Fe2a034034f6d9a840cb086c3b695%2Fap26223320881697.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3000x2037+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fea%2F15%2Fe2a034034f6d9a840cb086c3b695%2Fap26223320881697.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2010 file photo, Syria President Bashar al-Assad arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris for his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                FILE &#8211; In this Dec. 9, 2010 file photo, Syria President Bashar al-Assad arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris for his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Remy de la Mauviniere\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Remy de la Mauviniere\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>DAMASCUS, Syria \u2014 A Syrian court sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with his younger brother to death in absentia on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria&#8217;s 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead.<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-138166-100\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\">\n                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImageg-s1-38390\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/12\/17\/g-s1-38390\/syria-al-assad-prisons-damascus-search-for-missing\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/g-s1-38390\\\/syria-al-assad-prisons-damascus-search-for-missing&quot;}\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-format=\"webp\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1950x1950+488+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff3%2F56%2Ffa80fa7a4b7eb56cc692c1b91618%2F20241212-dsc1920-edit.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Sarah Abdel Hamid Al-A'ami holds photos of her 4 brothers who were all accused of terrorism under the Assad regime, and though she came to search posters of dead bodies, she still hasn't found any signs of them.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETBLOCK\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKET IMG\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-138166-100\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP INTERNALLINK INSETTWOCOLUMN INSET2COL \" --><\/p>\n<p>The sentences at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus are the first against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family&#8217;s five decades in power came to an end 20 months ago.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,&#8221; said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was aired live on state TV.<\/p>\n<p>Also sentenced to death in the same case was Assad&#8217;s maternal cousin Atef Najib, who was convicted of overseeing a crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war.<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-138167\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 6000;&#10;        --source-height: 4000;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6000x4000+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd0%2F97%2Fc245045b4db6b74a61ea2cb898a1%2Fap26223320672770.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6000x4000+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd0%2F97%2Fc245045b4db6b74a61ea2cb898a1%2Fap26223320672770.jpg 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src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6000x4000+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd0%2F97%2Fc245045b4db6b74a61ea2cb898a1%2Fap26223320672770.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6000x4000+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd0%2F97%2Fc245045b4db6b74a61ea2cb898a1%2Fap26223320672770.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"FILE -Atef Najib, former head of the Political Security Branch in the Daraa area during Bashar Assad's rule, sits in the defendants' cage during a trial session at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                FILE -Atef Najib, former head of the Political Security Branch in the Daraa area during Bashar Assad&#8217;s rule, sits in the defendants&#8217; cage during a trial session at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Ghaith Alsayed\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Ghaith Alsayed\/AP<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Amid tight security, Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner&#8217;s uniform as the judge read the sentence. A crowd of people gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus to hear the verdict.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the government&#8217;s fall in December 2024 and received political asylum. Syria&#8217;s new rulers have asked Russia to hand the Assads over.<\/p>\n<p>Najib, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in April 2011, was later detained and is one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial.<\/p>\n<p>Najib is a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria&#8217;s Daraa province under Assad in 2011.<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-138166-101\" class=\"bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col \">\n<div class=\"bucket img\">\n                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImageg-s1-37354\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/12\/07\/g-s1-37354\/syrian-government-appears-to-have-fallen-in-stunning-end-to-long-rule-of-assad-family\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/07\\\/g-s1-37354\\\/syrian-government-appears-to-have-fallen-in-stunning-end-to-long-rule-of-assad-family&quot;}\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-format=\"webp\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3648x3648+912+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd5%2F2f%2F234f207b49d6a513a996ec27ec93%2Fap24343174199394.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Syrians celebrate the arrival of opposition fighters in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETBLOCK\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKET IMG\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-138166-101\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP INTERNALLINK INSETTWOCOLUMN INSET2COL \" --><\/p>\n<p>During his tenure, more than a dozen teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of Assad&#8217;s security forces.<\/p>\n<p>The protests were met by a brutal government crackdown and spiraled into a 14-year civil war that ended with Assad&#8217;s ouster in a lightning rebel offensive.<\/p>\n<p>Maher Assad was a former commander of the Syrian military&#8217;s 4th Armored Division \u2014 which Syrian opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FILE &#8211; In this Dec. 9, 2010 file photo, Syria President Bashar al-Assad arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris for his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Remy de la Mauviniere\/AP hide caption toggle caption Remy de la Mauviniere\/AP DAMASCUS, Syria \u2014 A Syrian court sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with his&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3000x1688+0+175\/resize\/1400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fea%2F15%2Fe2a034034f6d9a840cb086c3b695%2Fap26223320881697.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}