Sentence handed down sentencing Waseem Al-Asad to death on charges of murder and torture of civilians

The Syrian Criminal Court issued a death sentence against Waseem al-Assad, the cousin of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, after convicting him of charges of intentional murder and the torture of civilians, according to a court statement. The court said that evidence proved the defendant had formed and funded armed groups that carried out mass killings of civilians, noting that these groups received financial salaries, as well as arms and funding. It added that Waseem al-Assad, alongside members of the Fourth Division, participated in the torture and killing of civilians during the period between 2012 and 2014. According to the court, the armed groups formed by al-Assad carried out killings of civilians based on religious identity, while the defendant was convicted of forming these groups and providing the necessary funding and weapons for their activities.