A Damascus court sentenced Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher, and former security official Atef Najib to death on Tuesday for murder, torture, and incitement to murder. This ruling by the transitional authorities follows the December 2024 seizure of Damascus by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group, which subsequently installed Ahmed al-Sharaa as interim president. The United States, having withdrawn its last troops from Syria in April 2026, now backs Sharaa's new government, a strategic shift that leaves a vacuum in a region still grappling with the legacy of a 14-year civil war and the persistent threat of Islamist radicalism.
The court convicted Bashar al-Assad of premeditated murder of multiple people, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention, and crimes against humanity. Najib was tried in person, while Bashar and Maher were tried in absentia. Najib, a cousin of Assad, was arrested in January last year and faced conviction for crimes including murder and “the intentional killing of children under 15.”
Assad, born in 1965, became president 26 years ago after his father, Hafez al-Assad, died. He maintained the family’s rule and the dominance of the Alawite sect in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country. Assad kept Syria aligned with Iran and hostile towards both Israel and the United States throughout his tenure.
The Islamist Ascendancy
In March 2011, government forces led by Assad violently suppressed protests during the Arab Spring, sparking an armed uprising. Russia and Iran backed Assad during the ensuing 14-year civil war. The US, Turkey, and other countries supported different factions at various stages of the conflict. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, civilian infrastructure was devastated, and millions were displaced, leaving Syria in a profound political, economic, and humanitarian crisis.
After Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized Damascus on December 8, 2024, ousting Assad, Sharaa became Syria’s interim president. Shortly after celebrating his victory, Sharaa began embracing world leaders. He appeared in Western media outlets, speaking of Syria’s “diversity as a strength” and of “unifying the country.” Sharaa also promised to pursue former government personnel and loyalists implicated in war crimes, trimming his beard and replacing his turban and thobe with a suit and tie.
In April, during a visit to London, Sharaa stated Damascus would stay out of the Israeli-US war on Iran unless his country came under attack. Syria’s transitional administration has initiated economic reforms, including public-sector employee reductions, tax system reforms, and the reopening of border crossings. Some observers have questioned the sustainability of Sharaa’s transformation, noting he hasn't publicly apologized for past actions.
Western Retreat and Regional Instability
The last remaining US troops in Syria left their Hasakah base in April 2026, ending a 10-year presence in the country. Following this withdrawal, the Syrian military entered the last base previously under American control, known as Qasrak, which included an airstrip. The Syrian foreign ministry welcomed “the completed handover of military sites where United States forces were previously present in Syria to the Syrian government.”
Earlier this year, the US helped facilitate an agreement between the longtime US partner Syrian Democratic Forces and Damascus. Under this agreement, the Syrian government agreed to take the lead in combating militant groups such as the Islamic State group. The SDF also agreed to hand over control of large swathes of territory, including Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, to Damascus.
US forces also withdrew from two other major American bases in Syria: southern al-Tanf and al-Shaddadi in the northeast. American troops had been in Syria since 2015. Washington, which backs President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government, previously had around 1,000 US troops in Syria.
On Monday, Syria also reached a memorandum of understanding with Russia to scale back Moscow’s military presence on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. This agreement ended 18 months of negotiations over the future of the Hmeimim airbase and Tartus naval facility. This move further reshapes the strategic balance in a region where Western influence is visibly diminishing.
Assad's Legacy and Continued Abuses
Human rights abuses were reported throughout the conflict, with the Assad government accused of widespread arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and attacks on civilians. A UN investigative mechanism stated evidence showed a systematic pattern of torture, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances across more than 100 government detention facilities. Rights concerns have continued during Syria’s political transition, with UN experts reporting allegations of summary executions, forced displacement, and other abuses against civilians.
Meanwhile, tensions between the new government and the Alawite community have been high. Last year, armed attacks on security forces by suspected Assad loyalists in the coastal Alawite heartland of Latakia spiraled into brutal sectarian bloodshed. At least 1,500 Alawites were killed in the subsequent violence, with a Reuters investigation tracing much of the violence back to security officials in Damascus.