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FILE -Atef Najib, former head of the Political Security Branch in the Daraa area during Bashar Assad's rule, sits in the defendants' cage during a trial session at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026., File)
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A Syrian court has sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and his younger brother to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead. Also sentenced to death on Tuesday was Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib for leading the crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war. Amid tight security, Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence. Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after insurgents marched into Damascus in December 2014.
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