On Tuesday, August 11, the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus issued a death sentence against the fugitive defendant Bashar Hafez al-Assad, the head of the ousted regime, and his brother Maher, following their conviction on charges related to murder and incitement to murder.
The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus also issued a death sentence on Tuesday, August 11, against the defendant Atef Najib, following the conclusion of his trial sessions.
The session was presided over by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, in the presence of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic, Judge-Counselor Hassan al-Turba, the President of the National Authority for Transitional Justice, Abdul Baset Abdul Latif, several of its members, representatives of international legal and humanitarian organizations, and relatives of the victims, according to the SANA news agency.
The court judge, Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, stated, “The court unanimously decided to convict the fugitive Bashar al-Assad,” explaining that his contribution to the crimes was that of the supreme decision-maker who mobilized state institutions for their execution.
Judge Aryan emphasized that the court considered al-Assad a “moral perpetrator” (fa’il ma’nawi) in all crimes committed against the Syrian people, even if he did not commit them with his own hands.
The verdict came during the final session held to pronounce judgments in the lawsuit filed against the defendant Atef Najib, the cousin of Bashar al-Assad. The court issued a death sentence against him, with the judge noting that the ruling against the defendant Atef Najib is “subject to appeal before the Court of Cassation.”
The defendant Najib is the cousin of the criminal head of the former regime, Bashar al-Assad. He previously held the position of Head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa Governorate and is accused of bearing direct responsibility for the repressive campaigns and arrests witnessed in the governorate since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, most notably the arrest of Daraa’s children in March of the same year.
The court also convicted the fugitives named in the case file, namely: Fahd Jassem al-Freij and Mohammad Ayman Ayyoush, as well as Louai Ali al-Ali, Qusay Ibrahim Mahyoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser, and Talal Fares al-Oseimi, of the felony of premeditated murder, intentional homicide, and torture leading to death, sentencing them to death.
Furthermore, the Fourth Criminal Court decided to maintain the in-absentia arrest warrants in force against all fugitive defendants and to circulate them to all competent authorities to pursue them internationally in accordance with due procedure.
The Judge of the Fourth Criminal Court, Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, stated that the court decided to confirm the provisional attachment placed on the movable and immovable assets of the defendants and convert it into an executive attachment.
He explained that the court decided to place the fugitive defendants under legal interdiction, strip them of their civil rights, and manage their assets in accordance with the management of property belonging to absent persons.
He also clarified that the court decided to obligate the convicted individuals to pay compensation to the civil claimants whose lawsuits were accepted.
Source: Official media
Note: This text is translated from the original Arabic version… Read the Arabic version:Click here
