Syrian court sentences ex-president Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity

A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia after convicting them of crimes against humanity and other offences, the SANA news agency reported. The Fourth Criminal Court also sentenced Assad’s cousin Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, and six other fugitives – Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Mohammed Ayman Ayoush, Louay al-Ali, Qusai Ibrahim Mhayoub, Wafiq Saleh Nasser and Talal Fares al-Asimi – to death on Tuesday.