A Syrian court has sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes including premeditated and intentional murder of more than one person and of children, torture, arbitrary arrest, and crimes against humanity.
Assad’s Rule and Downfall
Assad, who was born in 1965, became president in 2000 after his father Hafez died. He maintained the family’s rule and the dominance of their Alawite sect in the Sunni Muslim-majority country and Syria’s status as an Iranian ally hostile to Israel and the U.S.
Assad fled the capital Damascus as rebel fighters approached nearly two years ago and is currently in Moscow. The trial was part of a larger proceeding against former government officials, with Atef Najib, a security official under Assad, also receiving a death sentence.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
