Public Prosecution in Damascus Demands Death Penalty for Wisam Al-Assad

SadaNews - The public prosecution in Damascus demanded the imposition of the death penalty against Wisam Al-Assad, the cousin of former President Bashar Al-Assad, during the third session of his trial before the Fourth Criminal Court.

The National Authority for Transitional Justice stated that the prosecution's request for the execution of Wisam Al-Assad was based on "evidence and testimonies that prove the defendant's involvement in premeditated murder, drug trafficking, and assault on national security and public peace," which led them to demand the imposition of the "harshest penalties," which is the death penalty.

The National Authority clarified in a statement that in response, the accused Wisam Al-Assad and his defense team denied the charges against him while seeking "mercy and justice," as stated in the authority's statement.

The session was chaired by Judge Fakhr al-Din Al-Aryan and attended by representatives from local and international human rights organizations, where the court heard testimonies from public rights witnesses before announcing the postponement of the trial to July 29, according to the Syrian news agency "SANA."

On June 24, Wisam Al-Assad appeared for the first time before the judiciary, where he faced charges related to "managing and forming unauthorized armed groups commissioned by Brigadier General Ghiyath Dla, the commander of a brigade in the Fourth Division of the former regime led by Maher Al-Assad since the beginning of 2011, and participating in extensive military operations targeting civilian areas in Eastern Ghouta, especially the town of Mleiha, resulting in the deaths of a large number of civilians."

The second session of the trial was held on July 15, where the court listened to public rights witnesses in the presence of representatives from human rights organizations, and documents, photos, and video recordings related to the case file were presented. The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on June 21, 2025, the arrest of Wisam Al-Assad, the cousin of former President Bashar Al-Assad, at the Syrian-Lebanese border in an operation carried out in coordination with the General Intelligence Directorate.