Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule over Syria ended dramatically in December 2024 after rebel forces launched a rapid offensive that overwhelmed his weakened military. Assad fled Syria on December 8, 2024, and was granted refuge in Moscow, ending more than five decades of rule by the Assad family. On Tuesday, a Damascus court sentenced him to death in absentia over crimes including killings, arbitrary arrests and torture committed during his rule. Assad became president in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria since 1971. His older brother Bassel was the intended successor until his death in a 1994 car accident, transforming Bashar into Syria’s future president.