Syria sentences Assad cousin Wassim al-Assad to death

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced Wassim al-Assad, a detained cousin of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, to death after convicting him of multiple murders linked to atrocities during Syria's civil war.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said the 46-year-old was convicted of multiple murders and of "murder accompanied by torture and brutality", which the judge classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The court found that Wassim al-Assad had formed two armed groups loyal to the former authorities that took part in deadly attacks near 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. The court reserved the right to reopen that case if new evidence emerges.

The death sentence can be appealed to Syria's court of cassation, the country's highest judicial body.

Syria began proceedings in April against Bashar al-Assad and other former officials accused of atrocities during the nearly 14-year civil war. More than half a million people were killed, millions were displaced and tens of thousands disappeared after the conflict began with the repression of pro-democracy protesters by 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.

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 clothing and bearing arms.

Last Tuesday, Syria's judiciary sentenced Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for atrocities committed during the civil war, the first such ruling under the new authorities. Six former military and security officials were also sentenced to death in absentia, including Assad's brother Maher. Former security official Atif Najib, the only one in the dock in that case, was also sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.

Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in December 2024 with a small group of confidants, leaving behind 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.