Bashar Assad, brother sentenced to death over Syria war crimes:Verdict pronounced in absentia after 14-year war

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar Assad and his younger brother Maher to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year war, which left about half a million people dead. Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib was also sentenced to death for leading the crackdown in Daraa in 2011 that sparked the uprising and later civil war. Assad and Maher fled to Russia after insurgents entered Damascus in December 2014. Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general and head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa, was later detained and became one of the highest-ranking officials to face trial. Who is Bashar al-Assad? Bashar al-Assad was the President of Syria. He had taken office in 2000 after succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled the country for 29 years. His presidency has been marked by a brutal crackdown on dissent, particularly during the Syrian civil war that began in 2011. How did India-Syria relations develop during Nehru’s era? Jawaharlal Nehru established strong relations with Syria through the Non-Aligned Movement. He visited Syria in 1957 and 1960, developing good relations with Syria’s Baath Party. His visits were met with great enthusiasm, with thousands of Syrians welcoming him as a “hero of world peace.”