A court in Syria has sentenced ousted former President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother, Maher al-Assad, to death in absentia.

They were found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Syria’s 14-year conflict, in which around half a million people lost their lives.

Atef Najib, Bashar al-Assad’s maternal cousin, was also sentenced to death in the same case. He is accused of leading the crackdown in the southern province of Daraa, which triggered the uprising and subsequently the civil war in Syria.

Under tight security, Najib heard the verdict from inside a cage while wearing a prison uniform as the judge announced the sentence.

Najib, who was arrested later, became one of the highest-ranking Assad regime officials to face trial.

Atef Najib is a former brigadier general in the Syrian army. In 2011, under Bashar al-Assad’s regime, he headed the Political Security Branch in Daraa province, in southern Syria.

Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad fled to Russia after rebels marched toward Damascus in December 2014.

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