Assad Brothers Sentenced to Death in Absentia | Dayton News

Dayton News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 11, 2026 · 1m

In a historic move, Syria’s Fourth Criminal Court has sentenced former President Bashar Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the 14-year civil war that killed hundreds of thousands. Also convicted was cousin Atef Najib, a former brigadier general, who stood in court in uniform for his role in the 2011 crackdown that sparked the uprising. Survivors and victims’ families gathered outside, calling it justice long overdue — one teen survivor even said his greatest joy would be seeing Assad executed. The brothers fled to Russia for…