Where is Bashar al-Assad? Ousted Syrian dictator sentenced to death in absentia
Synrian E president Bashar Assad (2019 photo) where is Bashar al-Assad now, and can Syria ever bring him back to face the punishment handed down
Synrian E president Bashar Assad (2019 photo) where is Bashar al-Assad now, and can Syria ever bring him back to face the punishment handed down by its court? Assad remains in Russia after fleeing Syria Where exactly in Moscow is Assad living? Bashar Assad, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during their meeting in Moscow, Russia. Russia has kept Assad away from public life Why Syria sentenced Assad to death Syria sentences absent Bashar al-Assad to death over killings and torture (Image: Reuters) Verdict welcomed by Assad's victims Can Syria actually bring Assad back? From Syria's president to a secluded exile Bashar al-Assad inherited his presidency from his father A Syrian criminal court in Damascus has sentenced ousted president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after finding him guilty of killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and crimes against humanity committed during the country's nearly 14-year civil war. The verdict, delivered on Tuesday, August 11, marks the first conviction against Assad by Syria's transitional authorities since his regime collapsed in December 2024. But while the court has pronounced a death sentence, the former Syrian ruler remains far beyond the reach of the authorities who now control Damascus.Assad is currently in Russia, where he and his family were granted asylum after fleeing Syria when rebel forces captured Damascus in December 2024. His precise location inside Russia has not been publicly confirmed. However, reporting over the past year has placed the former dictator in Moscow, with sources previously indicating that his family was likely living in the heavily guarded Rublyovka area, an affluent district on the western outskirts of the Russian capital.The death sentence therefore raises a central question:The most recent credible reports continue to place Assad in Moscow.Reuters reported after Tuesday's verdict that Assad "is currently in Russia", where he and his family received asylum on humanitarian grounds. His brother Maher al-Assad, who also received a death sentence in absentia, is likewise believed to be in Russia.Assad's escape from Syria came on December 8, 2024, when rebel forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa swept into Damascus after a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks. The advance brought down the Assad government and ended more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.At the time, Assad's whereabouts were initially unknown. Russia's foreign ministry said he had resigned and left Syria, while reports suggested he had travelled from the coastal region before being flown to Russia. Russian state media subsequently reported that Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and had been granted asylum.In a statement issued after his escape, Assad disputed accounts that he had planned his departure in advance. He said he had remained in Damascus until the final hours and later moved to a Russian military base in Latakia as the security situation deteriorated."First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed," Assad said in the statement."On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024," he added.According to Assad's account, he travelled to the Russian Khmeimim airbase in Latakia after opposition forces entered Damascus and intended to continue overseeing military operations.
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