Damascus court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death over orders linked to crimes against Syrians

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s former president, was sentenced to death after evidence established his direct involvement in issuing orders to field operatives who committed crimes against the Syrian people, the head of Damascus’s Fourth Criminal Court said on Thursday. Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan made the remarks in a statement to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). He said the court based its ruling on evidence establishing Assad’s responsibility through the chain of command and orders, as well as documentation of his direct involvement in issuing orders from the top of the hierarchy to those carrying them out on the ground. Al-Aryan stressed that the sentence was not handed down simply because Assad had served as president. READ: Syria arrests 5 former Assad […]