A Syrian court on Tuesday handed a death sentence to Wassim al-Assad who appeared in the dock, a cousin of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad who was himself sentenced to death in absentia last week.
The 46-year-old relative of Assad was convicted over atrocities committed under the autocrat’s rule during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Assad’s cousin was convicted of multiple murders and “murder accompanied by torture and brutality… classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes”, adding that “he is therefore sentenced to death”.
Syria in April began proceedings against Bashar al-Assad and other officials accused of atrocities during the country’s civil war, which erupted with the brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters by the former authorities.
More than half a million people were subsequently killed and millions displaced, while tens of thousands disappeared.
The court found that Wassim al-Assad had formed two armed groups loyal to the former authorities that took part in deadly attacks near capital Damascus.
It also convicted him of inciting civil war and sectarian fighting, as well as deprivation of liberty and torture.
He was found not guilty of drug smuggling and trafficking due to insufficient evidence, while the court reserved the right to reopen the case if new evidence emerged.
The ruling can be appealed to the court of cassation, Syria’s highest judicial body.
Syria’s transitional leaders have vowed to provide justice and accountability for crimes committed under the former authorities.
Wassim al-Assad’s first trial session was held in late June, after he was arrested last year near the Lebanese-Syrian border in what authorities described as an ambush.
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While he did not hold high office, the US Treasury sanctioned him in 2023, saying he led a paramilitary unit and was “a key figure in the regional drug trafficking network”.
During the civil war, Wassim al-Assad posted images of himself on social media near luxury cars, sometimes appearing in military garb and bearing arms.
At times he appeared alongside other armed men, urging them to fight for the now deposed leader.
Last Tuesday, Syria’s judiciary sentenced Bashar al-Assad to death after a trial in absentia for atrocities committed during the civil war, in the first such ruling under the new authorities.
Six former military and security officials were also sentenced in absentia to death, including Assad’s brother Maher, who ran the army’s elite Fourth Division.
Former security official Atif Najib — the only one in the dock — was also sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed when he was head of political security in Daraa province, the cradle of Syria’s uprising.
The United Nations, while expressing opposition to the death penalty, said last week that “addressing long-standing demands for justice, accountability, and truth can contribute to restoring confidence in institutions… and sustainable peace”.
Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in December 2024 with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom have reportedly fled to neighbouring countries or taken refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority.
AFP
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