Damascus court hands death sentence to Bashar Assad's cousin

A court in Damascus has sentenced Wassim Assad, a cousin of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, to death after convicting him of murder, torture, and other offences committed during the country's civil war.

The verdict was announced on Tuesday by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, who read out the charges in a packed courtroom. Assad was found guilty of premeditated murder, intentional killing of multiple people, and acts of torture and brutality — all classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was also convicted of incitement to civil war and sectarian conflict, as well as deprivation of liberty and torture.

The sentencing comes just a week after Bashar Assad and his brother Maher were handed death sentences in absentia for similar crimes. Their maternal cousin, Atef Najib, was also sentenced for overseeing a crackdown in Daraa province that is widely seen as the spark of the 2011 uprising.

While Assad himself remains in Russia, where he has been granted asylum, the verdicts are likely to be welcomed by many Syrians who have grown frustrated with the pace of justice against former regime figures. However, some human rights groups have voiced concerns that the trials were rushed and may not have met fair-trial standards, pointing to flaws in the country's still-developing judicial system.