ديجيتال فابلت

الوسم: conviction

  • Syria sentences Bashar al-Assad to death over killings and torture

    Syria sentences Bashar al-Assad to death over killings and torture

    A Syrian court has handed down its first conviction against Bashar al-Assad. The court sentenced Assad to death in absentia, citing charges of murder, torture, and arbitrary detention during nearly 14 years of conflict in Syria. A security official associated with Assad was also sentenced to death.

    Assad, born in 1965, assumed power in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad. His leadership maintained the family’s grip on power, reinforced by the Alawite sect’s dominance in the predominantly Sunni Muslim nation, and upheld Syria’s alliances with Iran, along with its opposition to Israel and the United States.

    He was forced to leave Damascus nearly two years ago when rebel forces advanced toward the city. He is now residing in Moscow.

    Tuesday’s trial involved former government officials and resulted in a death verdict for Assad over crimes including premeditated murder—especially of children—torture, arbitrary arrests, and crimes against humanity.

    This marks the first legal action taken against Assad, who led Syria for more than two decades before being ousted following a rebel offensive in December 2024 that ended his family’s longstanding rule and ignited a brutal civil war, killing hundreds of thousands of Syrians.

    Assad’s early rule was shaped by regional turmoil, including the Iraq war and Lebanon crisis, but it was the outbreak of civil war after the 2011 Arab Spring protests demanding democracy that defined his presidency. The conflict swiftly turned deadly as government forces responded with lethal force to protests demanding change.

  • UK Court Sentences Afghan Asylum Seeker for Raping 12-Year-Old

    UK Court Sentences Afghan Asylum Seeker for Raping 12-Year-Old

    A court in the UK has convicted an Afghan man of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl, a case that led to protests and political debate after authorities initially did not disclose his refugee status. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was found guilty of two counts of raping a child under 13 in Nuneaton last July, following a trial at Warwick Crown Court.

    He previously pleaded guilty to another count of rape and was also convicted of kidnapping a minor, multiple sexual assault charges, and creating indecent images of a child. His co-defendant, Mohammad Kabir, 24, was acquitted of efforts to abduct the girl, attempts to commit a sexual offense, and assault involving strangulation linked to an incident on the same day.

    Activists opposing immigration have highlighted other crimes involving asylum seekers—mainly young men placed in hotels—to argue they pose risks to local communities. Conversely, advocates for migrants claim far-right groups and opportunistic politicians are deliberately trying to stoke fears for their own gain.

    Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft told jurors last month that Mulakhil took the victim to a remote dead-end street where he assaulted her and took inappropriate images. Mulakhil is scheduled for sentencing at a future date.