Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted from power in 2024, is currently residing in Russia, according to reports from the Associated Press.
A Syrian court has sentenced al-Assad to death in absentia, alongside his younger brother, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 14-year Syrian conflict, which resulted in approximately half a million deaths.
Also sentenced to death in connection with the case is al-Assad’s maternal cousin, Atef Najib, who has been accused of leading the crackdown in the southern province of Daraa, which sparked the uprising and subsequently the civil war.
Najib was held in a cage, dressed in a prison uniform, while the judge delivered the sentence under strict security conditions.
Following the insurgents’ entry into Damascus in December 2024, al-Assad and his brother, Maher, fled to Russia.
Najib was later detained and became one of the highest-ranking officials prosecuted.
A former brigadier general in the Syrian army, Najib was chief of the Political Security Directorate in Daraa under al-Assad’s leadership in 2011.
Al-Assad in Moscow
According to an article published last year by the German publication Die Zeit, al-Assad now resides in a skyscraper in Moskva City, a futuristic business district in the Russian capital, where his extended family occupies 20 luxurious apartments.
Thanks to his ally Vladimir Putin, Assad is protected by the FSB.
For nearly a quarter of a century, Bashar al-Assad commanded a regime characterized by torture and abuse, as noted by Die Zeit.
When Syrians rose against the dictator during the Arab Spring in 2011, he devastated the nation in a bloody civil war, leaving over half a million dead in his quest to maintain power. In Damascus, he has faced accusations of war crimes, including using chemical attacks against civilians.
On September 27, 2025, the Syrian Ministry of Justice announced the issuance of an arrest warrant. The charges included premeditated murder, torture, and incitement to civil war.
Vladimir Putin stood by Assad throughout, directly involving himself in the Syrian civil war, and when rebel forces led by current Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa advanced toward Damascus, he provided refuge in Russia.
Not only did al-Assad flee; approximately 1,200 officers, many from the Alawite minority like the Assad family, now live in Russia. Those without significant means have been relocated to Siberia, while the wealthy reside in Moscow, according to Die Zeit.
