Cousin of former Syrian president Bashar Assad sentenced to death

A Damascus court has sentenced Wassim Assad, cousin of former Syrian president Bashar Assad, to death over premeditated murder and torture classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes, according to Syrian state news agency SANA on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, a Damascus court had handed down death sentences in absentia against Bashar Assad and his younger brother Maher Assad, who led the Syrian Army’s Fourth Division. The court also ordered the confiscation of movable and immovable assets belonging to the convicts to be transferred to the state treasury. Wassim Assad’s trial took place at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus as part of the transitional justice process. Syrian authorities arrested Wassim Assad in June 2025 at the border between Syria and Lebanon.