Damascus: Syrian officials on Tuesday welcomed death sentences handed down against several senior figures of the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime, describing the verdicts as reflecting the will of the Syrian people, a victory for justice and a rejection of impunity. Earlier Tuesday, the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus sentenced Brig. Gen. Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security branch in the southern province of Daraa, to death. It also handed down death sentences in absentia to Bashar al-Assad, the deposed regime leader and Najib's cousin; Maher al-Assad, his brother and former commander of the Fourth Division; and six other former security and military officials who remain at large. The court found them guilty of 'crimes against humanity,' intentional killing, torture and arbitrary detention.
According to Anadolu Agency, commenting on the verdicts, Interior Minister Anas Khattab said: 'Today, justice has prevailed for the victims of crimes and violations committed against Syrians,' according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). 'Congratulations to the Syrian people on the issuance of the first death sentences against the perpetrators of these crimes, in a historic step toward redressing victims and holding those responsible accountable,' Khattab said. 'We will continue pursuing everyone involved in these crimes until they receive their just punishment,' he added.
Information Minister Khaled Zaarour said the death sentences against the 'leaders of the former regime' represent 'another victory for Syrians and a definitive confirmation that there will be no impunity,' according to SANA. He said transitional justice and national efforts are 'the real guarantee of the rights of the victims of the Syrian revolution and the cornerstone for closing the era of authoritarianism and building a new Syria.'
Awqaf Minister Mohammad Abu al-Khair Shukri said the verdicts represent 'a new step toward consolidating the rule of law and justice, providing redress to victims and restoring rights to their owners,' according to SANA.
Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais said the verdicts against 'criminals of the former regime' followed a series of judicial proceedings and were issued 'in the name of the Syrian people,' Syrian Alikhbariah TV reported. Al-Wais said Syrians had decided to build their new state on 'justice, citizenship and the rule of law.' He called on citizens to trust state institutions and the national process launched after the fall of the former regime and seek their rights through the relevant institutions. He said the verdicts were issued in accordance with Syrian penal law and international humanitarian law as part of efforts to provide redress to victims and prevent impunity.
Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh said the death sentence represents 'an important milestone on the path to justice and accountability for those responsible for crimes and violations against the Syrian people.' He said transitional justice would continue to hold accountable anyone whose hands were 'stained with the blood of Syrians,' regardless of position or rank, to establish a state based on law and justice.
SANA also quoted Syrian Bar Association head Mohammad Ali al-Tawil as saying the ruling was 'a historic landmark' in the country's judicial history and a legal culmination of the patience of mothers of those killed and wounded, as well as a tribute to victims of years of oppression and suffering affecting millions of Syrians. 'There will be no position or authority in the new Syria above the voice of law and justice,' al-Tawil said, adding that the judiciary is moving toward a more sustainable process of healing the country's wounds.
Hama Governor Abdul Rahman al-Suhyan said: 'Today, justice has spoken,' adding that Hama, 'the province that knew the meaning of injustice and deprivation,' affirmed that justice is the foundation for building a new Syria, according to SANA. Tartous Governor Ahmad al-Shami described the death sentence against 'war criminals' as 'a deterrent punishment for what they committed against humanity, restoring dignity to every victim and providing solace to the mothers of the missing,' according to SANA. The ruling demonstrated that 'justice, however long it takes, will come, and that the truth does not die no matter how much falsehood conspires against it,' he added.
Later, SANA reported that residents of Daraa gathered in the courtyard of the Omari Mosque in the Daraa al-Balad neighborhood to celebrate the death sentence against Najib and other former regime figures. Participants held signs reading, among other slogans: 'Truth has prevailed and falsehood has perished,' 'Daraa, birthplace of the revolution, has prevailed again,' and 'The blood of the martyrs will not be lost.' The Omari Mosque was the site of a deadly crackdown by former regime forces during the early days of the Syrian revolution, when troops stormed the mosque and killed and wounded dozens of worshippers.
The public prosecution and the prosecution authority had called for the maximum punishment, death, against Najib and the other defendants who remain at large, including Bashar and Maher al-Assad. The case centers on Najib's role in suppressing protests in Daraa, where the Syrian uprising began on March 18, 2011, after several children were arrested and tortured for writing anti-regime slogans on walls. Najib was also linked to the storming of the Omari Mosque and the humiliation of local residents. The US and EU placed him on their sanctions lists in April and May 2011, respectively.
The trial, whose first hearings began on April 26, represents a major step in Syria's transitional justice process following the capture of Damascus by Syrian opposition factions on Dec. 8, 2024, ending 61 years of Baath Party rule, including 53 years under the Assad family.