Syrian court sentences Wassim al-Assad to death

Cousin of Bashar al-Assad and former regime figure found guilty of crimes including premeditated murder and torture.Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of ousted Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, has been sentenced to death after being convicted of crimes during the country’s nearly 14-year war.The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus issued the ruling on Tuesday, finding Wassim al-Assad guilty of crimes that included premeditated murder and torture.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Bashar al-Assad, Atef Najib sentenced to death in landmark Syria triallist 2 of 3Israeli strikes in south Lebanon a ‘violation of international law’: PMlist 3 of 3‘They need each other’: What’s behind the new Syria-Russia-accord" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="187733" data-entity-type="event">Syria-Russia accord?end of listJudge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Wassim al-Assad was convicted of multiple murders and “murder accompanied by torture and brutality … classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes”.Footage showed Wassim al-Assad inside a defendant’s cage in the courtroom as judges read out his sentence.With the ruling, Wassim al-Assad becomes the first al-Assad family member to be sentenced in person.While Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad also face death sentences, they were sentenced a week earlier in absentia because they live in exile in Russia, where they fled after Assad was ousted in December 2024.Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto, reporting from outside the courthouse in Damascus, called the conviction and sentencing of Wassim al-Assad “very significant”.“Today, Wassim al-Assad becomes the first member of the al-Assad family … to be tried and sentenced in person here in Syria,” Hitto said.Who is Wassim al-Assad?Arrested in June 2025 upon his return from Lebanon, Wassim al-Assad has long been accused of overseeing the production and smuggling of the amphetamine-like drug Captagon to neighbouring countries during the former regime’s rule. He is also under US and European sanctions.