Syria sentences Bashar Assad to death in absentia over atrocities

DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) -- A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced former ruler Bashar Assad to death after a trial in absentia, convicting him of atrocities committed during the country's nearly 14-year civil war. It is the first such ruling under Syria's transitional leaders, who ousted Assad in December 2024, vowing to provide justice and accountability for crimes committed under his rule. Assad fled to Moscow as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus after a lightning offensive. At a court in D