A Syrian court has sentenced former president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the country's 14-year conflict, which left about half a million people dead. The Damascus court delivered the ruling on Tuesday, convicting Bashar of premeditated murder of multiple people, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and incitement to murder. His brother Maher was also sentenced to death. A former security official, Atef Najib, a cousin of Assad, was tried in person and received the same sentence after being convicted of murder, the intentional killing of children under 15, and torture leading to death. Najib was arrested in January last year. Assad fled with his family to Moscow as armed opposition forces closed in on Damascus in December 2024. The ruling is the first issued under Syria's transitional authorities.