A court in Damascus has sentenced Wasim Assad, a cousin of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, to death after finding him guilty of premeditated murder and torture, crimes that were classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes, according to infohub.kz.
As reported by RIA Novosti, citing the Syrian state agency SANA, the court found Wasim Assad guilty of multiple premeditated murders and torture-related crimes. Judge Fakhreddine al-Aryan announced the verdict: "The court found the defendant Wasim Assad guilty of the premeditated murder of several people, as well as crimes related to torture, classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court has decided to sentence the defendant Wasim Assad to death."
In addition, the court ordered the confiscation of the convict's movable and immovable property in favor of the state treasury.
The trial of Wasim Assad took place in the Fourth Criminal Court of Damascus as part of transitional justice cases. Syrian authorities detained him in June 2025 at the Syrian-Lebanese border. Earlier, it was reported that former Syrian President Bashar Assad was sentenced to death in absentia.
It is worth recalling that in early December 2024, the Syrian capital fell into the hands of rebels less than two weeks after they launched an offensive and took control of several major Syrian cities. Following that, Syrian President Bashar Assad decided to step down and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power.
Assad, along with his family, arrived in Moscow. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Vladimir Putin personally made the decision to grant asylum to Bashar Assad. In late April, it was reported that Russia had refused a request from Syria's new government to extradite the ousted president.