Crowds flood Syrian streets after historic verdict against Assad VIDEO

Residents took to the streets in Damascus and other Syrian cities following a court ruling sentencing former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia.

The verdict, issued by a Syrian criminal court, was welcomed by local residents and relatives of victims of the former regime, who described it as a historic step toward justice and accountability.

Crowds gathered in several locations to mark the ruling, with many viewing the death sentence as a significant moment for families affected by years of conflict and repression under Assad’s rule.

The court previously sentenced Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 and is living in exile in Russia, to death in absentia over crimes committed during Syria’s nearly 14-year conflict.

The sentencing follows a nearly four-month trial process, billed by Syria's new Islamist-led authorities as a sign the country was prioritising transitional justice to move away from Assad's rule.

However, some said the death sentence would diminish any chance of Assad and his fellow defendants being repatriated to face justice in their home country.

"There is a huge problem, which is that no one will hand over a criminal to a country that issues a death sentence. This will cut off the ​road to Assad, and many other criminals, ​being handed over to Syria," said Anwar ⁠al-Bunni, head of the Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research.

"This is performative justice, not transitional justice," Bunni noted.

By Vafa Guliyeva