Assad Sentenced to Death: But Will Syria Ever Get Him Back?

Syria has sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, alongside his brother Maher, while his cousin and former Daraa security chief Atef Najib also received a death sentence. The ruling is a landmark moment for a country still dealing with the consequences of the 2011 uprising and the war that followed.

But the most interesting question is not simply whether Assad deserves the punishment. It is whether Syria can ever put him in the courtroom to face it.

The case against Assad is rooted in the violent response to the 2011 protests. Najib was the political security chief in Daraa when the uprising began. His actions became particularly notorious after security forces arrested and tortured children accused of writing anti-government graffiti. The treatment of protesters and the subsequent crackdown helped turn demonstrations in Daraa into a nationwide revolt.

Assad’s wider prosecution covers alleged crimes committed throughout the conflict, including murder, torture, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The war ultimately killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

Najib can actually face the consequences: he was arrested in Syria in January 2025 and has been present during his landmark trial. Assad is a completely different problem.

He fled Syria after his government collapsed in December 2024 and was granted asylum in Russia, where he remains. Syria has previously sought his extradition, but Moscow has refused to hand him over. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has raised the issue directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, without securing Assad’s return.

And the death sentence itself could make extradition even more politically and legally complicated. Countries often have restrictions against extraditing suspects to jurisdictions where they face execution, particularly where assurances against the death penalty would be required.

So, for now, the verdict may be more symbolic than immediately enforceable. Assad can be sentenced. Syria can issue warrants. But as long as Moscow continues protecting him, actually carrying out that sentence remains highly unlikely.

That leaves Syria facing a much bigger transitional-justice test: can it hold powerful figures accountable even when those figures are protected by foreign governments? For victims of Daraa, the verdict is an important acknowledgment of what happened. But for Assad himself, justice may remain thousands of kilometers away.