Syria court sentences in absentia ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad to death

The court convicted Assad, who was ousted in December 2024, over charges of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" during the Syrian civil war. Assad fled with his family to Moscow as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus at the end of his rule.

Assad isn't the first former head of state to have been sentenced to death, either in person or in absentia. Several others have received similar sentences after being ousted from power. Here are a few of them:

1. Saddam Hussein (President of Iraq)Saddam Hussein was ousted after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 under the George Bush administration. He was then sentenced to death by hanging in November 2006 by the Iraqi High Tribunal for crimes against humanity regarding the 1982 Dujail massacre.