"Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity," said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was aired live on state TV on Tuesday. Amid tight security, Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner's uniform as the judge read the sentence. Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the government's fall in December 2024 and received political asylum. Najib is a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria's Daraa province under Assad in 2011. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of Assad's security forces.