Today, Tuesday, the Damascus Criminal Court issued death sentences in absentia against the ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a number of symbols of his former regime, after convicting them of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, following the outbreak of the conflict that the country has witnessed since 2011. The court said that it ruled Bashar al-Assad guilty of crimes against humanity and the felony of premeditated murder, and a death sentence was issued against him in absentia.  The rulings also included convicting Maher al-Assad of death. The court also decided to sentence Atef Najib, the former head of the Political Security Branch in Daraa and the ousted president’s cousin, to death for committing crimes against humanity against the backdrop of his involvement in torturing detainees. These rulings are a prominent judicial development in the pursuit of symbols of the former regime after its fall.