Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of ousted Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, has been sentenced to death after being convicted of crimes during the country’s nearly 14-year war.
The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus issued the ruling on Tuesday, finding Wassim al-Assad guilty of crimes including premeditated murder and torture.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Wassim al-Assad was convicted of multiple murders and “murder accompanied by torture and brutality … classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
Footage showed Wassim al-Assad inside a defendant’s cage in the Damascus court as judges read out his sentence.
With the ruling, Wassim al-Assad becomes the first al-Assad family member to be sentenced in person.
While Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad also face death sentences, they were sentenced in absentia as they live in exile in Russia.
Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto, reporting from outside the courthouse in Damascus, Syria, called the in-person ruling against Wassim al-Assad “very significant.”
“Today Wassim al-Assad becomes the first member of the al-Assad family… to be tried and sentenced in person here in Syria,” Hitto said.
Wassim al-Assad had faced international sanctions for drug trafficking and leading pro-regime paramilitary groups.
He had faced a range of charges, including establishing and leading irregular armed groups since early 2011. He was also charged with participating in military operations targeting civilian areas in Eastern Ghouta, particularly the town of al-Mleiha, resulting in the deaths of many civilians.
The court found him not guilty of drug trafficking charges levied against him, ruling there was insufficient evidence of his direct involvement, reported Hitto.
As part of Syria’s transitional justice process, the country’s judiciary has been prosecuting defendants accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
