DAMASCUS: A Syrian court has sentenced ousted president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after finding him guilty of killings, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

The ruling marks the first conviction against Bashar al-Assad, who was removed from power in December 2024 after a rebel offensive ended his family’s decades-long rule in Syria.

Assad’s government was accused of widespread human rights abuses throughout the conflict, which began in 2011 and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

Atef Najib, a former security official under Assad, was also sentenced to death.

During a trial involving former government officials, a judge handed down the death sentence against Assad over what the court described as the “premeditated and intentional murder” of multiple people, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.

Assad, born in 1965, became president in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for nearly three decades.

He continued his family’s rule and maintained the political dominance of the Alawite minority in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country.

His government also maintained close relations with Iran and pursued a foreign policy hostile towards Israel and the United States.

Assad’s presidency was ultimately defined by the civil war that erupted in 2011 following nationwide protests inspired by the Arab Spring.

Syrians took to the streets demanding political reforms and greater democratic rights, but the protests were met with a violent crackdown, eventually escalating into a prolonged and devastating conflict.

The war led to mass displacement, widespread destruction and hundreds of thousands of deaths before Assad was removed from power in December 2024.