Assad's sentencing

The former strongman of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, stands condemned as he was sentenced to death in absentia. The Alawite dynasty scion who ruled Syria for 24 years and fled in a jiff as Damascus fell to rebel forces in 2024 has reportedly sought asylum in Moscow. He was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for his repression during the civil war. The court also convicted Assad of premeditated murder in Deraa in 2011, the theater of the uprising in the wake of the Arab Spring.

With Damascus now under a transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, this piece of judicial expedition was apparently meant to further the accountability of the fallen dictator. The point is that such an exercise, with little impact on the political horizon of the country, can merely be read as a resolve from a successive regime against its predecessor. The intent, however, remains questionable as it is devoid of the veracity of law, given that the accused could not be provided his right to a defence.

Assad is now in the league of ousted figures whose fate was determined by the law of the land after their contested departure. Some of the high-profile names in recent history are Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, President François Bozizé of the former Central African Republic, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Congolese President Pascal Lissouba, etc.

It remains to be seen how the fractured and lawless society of Syria will react to this ex-parte dictum. The fact is that no tears were shed for Assad, and there was hardly any pushback from the power-entrenched Alawites and the army. President Sharaa, who seized power in Syria on the pledge of evolving a nationalist decorum, must look beyond Assad and work for regional serenity. The sentence, nonetheless, is a powerful political act and will surely have ramifications. It also comes with the underlining that despots have a timeline to stay put in power, as sooner or later, history sits in judgment.