Assad death sentence defended by justice minister amidst criticism
Syria’s justice minister Mazhar al-Wais has defended the decision to sentence Bashar al-Assad to death after Amnesty International criticised the verdict, The New Arab and agencies report on August 13th.
On August 12th, the justice ministry released a statement saying that specialized civilian criminal courts with qualified judges carried out the former dictator’s trial and was attended by victims and their representatives. Due to his self-imposed exile in Russia, Assad was not present at his trial.
Amnesty International, a human rights charity has criticised the in absentia nature of the trial and death penalty verdict. In a statement on August 11th, the organisation said that “ordinary civilian courts” should conduct the trial with “the participation of victims” but “the death penalty” shouldn’t be resorted to.
According to the justice ministry’s statement, the trial complied with legal safeguards of international human rights law, all defence and appeal rights were granted to Assad and the verdict was found based on evidence. They affirmed that any criticism from Amnesty is not a accurate representation of how judicial proceedings are carried out in Syria.
The human rights organisation have also called on the Syrian government to “abolish in absentia trials, end the use of the death penalty, criminalize core crimes covered by international law in domestic legislation, and undertake comprehensive judicial reform to ensure that all judicial proceedings fully respect fair-trial guarantees, international law, and international standards”.
Trials of government officials during Assad’s dictatorship began in April 2026, with many defendants being charged with committing crimes against humanity during the Syrian civil war.
Lasting from 2011 until 2024, the war between anti-government rebel groups and the Syrian government resulted in the deaths of at least 580,00 people according to Global Conflict Tracker and UN estimates.
Six other regime members have been sentenced to death including Assad’s brother Maher and his cousin Atef Najib.
Najib – the only one present at his trial -, was in charge of political security and orchestrated the oppression of protestors in the southern Daraa region.
Fahd al-Freij, former defence minister and Louay al-Ali, head of Daraa’s military intelligence have both been convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to al-Wais all defendants retain the right to have 30 days to appeal their sentencing.
The New Arab, Maghrebi.org, Global Conflict Tracker
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