A criminal court in Damascus sentenced Wassim al Assad, cousin of former president Bashar al Assad, to death on charges of homicide, torture, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Syrian state news agency SANA reported that the court also ordered the confiscation of the defendant's movable and immovable assets.
The verdict was handed down on 18 August 2026, after Wassim al Assad had been in custody for more than a year. According to local press reports, he was born in 1980 and came from a family that for decades was synonymous with power and influence in Syria. He was a member of a family known for forming armed groups loyal to the previous government and for its prominence in business and security sectors.
Judicial investigations established that Wassim formed irregular armed groups under the direction of Colonel Ghiath Dalla, an officer linked to the Fourth Division commanded by Maher al Assad, Bashar's brother. According to SANA, from early 2011 he led and formed these groups, which participated in military operations against civilian areas in Eastern Ghouta, particularly in the locality of al-Mleiha. The court determined that these groups carried out killing operations described as massacres that resulted in numerous civilian casualties.
The charges also included a separate incident in the city of Jirmana, near Damascus. The judge indicated that the court determined "beyond doubt" that an armed group under the orders of Wassim al Assad attacked a shop, stole its contents and kidnapped the owner for his opposition to the previous government. The court also convicted him for his group's participation in the kidnapping and murder of Syrian citizens in multiple localities.
The name of Wassim al Assad has also been associated with drug trafficking networks, particularly captagon. In 2023, the US Treasury and the European Union included him on sanctions lists, along with other members of the al Assad family, for his alleged role in a regional drug trafficking network that generated income for the previous government.
Opposition forces entered Damascus on 8 December 2024, causing Bashar al Assad and his family to flee to Russia. On 21 June 2025, the new Syrian authorities announced the capture of Wassim al Assad in a joint operation with intelligence services. The authorities described him as one of the main drug traffickers and those responsible for crimes committed during the previous government. His trial began on 24 June 2026, and on 22 July 2026 the court heard testimony from accusers in a closed session with the defendant present.
