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Bashar al-Assad

An anti-government fighter tears down a portrait of Syria's then-President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, after jihadists and their allies entered the northern Syrian city, on November 30, 2024. (Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP)
August 19, 2026, 11:42 am
Syria arrests Assad-era officer who fled prison sentence in Austria
Musab Abu Rukbah returned home after Vienna court sentenced him to 8 years in jail for torture, sexual assault of Assad critics while serving as head of Raqqa police investigations
By Feras Dalatey
International Atomic Energy Agency’s director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attend a press conference in Damascus, Syria, August 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
August 18, 2026, 8:28 pm
IAEA finds ‘tons’ of nuclear material in Syria; Damascus: We’ll keep it for ‘peaceful’ energy use
UN nuclear watchdog chief Grossi says ‘it could be put to bad use’ and will be placed under ‘international safeguards’; he also tours reactor site bombed by Israel in 2007, increasingly convinced site was nuclear facility
By AFP and ToI Staff
Then-president Bashar al-Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during presidential elections in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
August 11, 2026, 5:19 pm
Syrian court sentences ex-president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes
Assad’s cousin Atef Najib, present in Damascus court, also given death penalty for overseeing 2011 crackdown that helped trigger uprising against regime
By GHAITH ALSAYED and SAMAR KASSABALLI
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, welcomes United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Syrian presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
July 25, 2026, 1:21 pm
UN chief urges support for Syria, meets Sharaa, on first visit since before civil war
Antonio Guterres calls on the international community to help Syria rebuild after years of war; will visit UN troops stationed in a buffer zone between Syria and Israel
By AFP
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa addresses the inaugural session of Syria’s newly formed People’s Assembly, the first since the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government, in Damascus, Syria on Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
July 12, 2026, 6:16 pm
Syria’s interim parliament meets for first time after Assad overthrow
At chamber’s first session in Damascus, President Sharaa calls on lawmakers to model ‘responsibility and competence’; three seats for Druze-majority Sweida remain empty
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Museum employees unpack a carved stone panel after Syrian authorities unveiled antiquities returned from France at the National Museum in Damascus, Syria, July 8, 2026.(AP/Ghaith Alsayed)
July 10, 2026, 11:48 am
France returns 23 Syrian treasures kept for 15 years due to severed ties
Artifacts flown to Damascus aboard Macron’s presidential aircraft include Roman bronze objects, Byzantine and Islamic-era pieces, mosaic panel that once adorned the Umayyad Mosque
By AP
Ex-Syrian general defendant Khaled al-Halabi (R) covers his face as he is escorted in handcuffs for the trial to the courtroom by justice officers at the Regional Vienna's Court of Austria in Vienna, Austria, on June 1, 2026. (Joe Klamar/AFP)
June 1, 2026, 6:30 pm
Two Syrian former officials deny civil war torture charges as trial opens in Austria
Former Syrian intel officer Khaled al-Halabi and ex-police chief Musab Abu Rukbah are charged with committing slew of crimes against Assad’s opponents in Raqqa between 2011 and 2013
By Julia ZAPPEI and Blaise GAUQUELIN
Members of a UN investigative team take samples near the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, August 28, 2013. (AP/United Media Office of Arbeen)
May 26, 2026, 9:55 pm
Syria locates materials from Assad’s chemical weapons program, arrests suspects
More than 70 rockets and aerial bombs uncovered, as well as raw ingredients for the production of sarin, which was used on Syrians during the 14-year civil ​war
By Anthony Deutsch
The mugshot of Adnan Abboud Hilweh, an Assad-era general who was arrested by Syria for allegedly being behind chemical attacks against civilians, after his arrest on April 29, 2026. (Syrian Interior Ministry / SANA)
April 30, 2026, 12:11 am
Syria arrests former Assad-era general accused of 2013 chemical attack involvement
Interior Ministry says it detained Adnan Abboud Hilweh, who it says was responsible for sarin nerve gas ‘massacre’ on Damascus-area suburb Ghouta, which killed over 1,000
By AFP
Atef Najib, former head of the Political Security Branch in the Daraa area during Bashar al-Assad's rule, sits in the defendants' cage during a trial session at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
April 26, 2026, 7:11 pm
Syria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials begins in Damascus
Bereaved families demand death penalty, starting with Atef Najib, a former general and cousin of the ousted dictator who was allegedly behind the torture of children in 2011
By GHAITH ALSAYED
Former Syrian intelligence officer Amjad Yousef after his arrest in the central province of Hama, in an image published on April 24, 2026. (Syrian Interior Ministry/X)
April 25, 2026, 1:46 am
Syria says it arrested ex-intel officer filmed taking part in 2013 Damascus massacre
Syria says Amjad Yousef was one of several officers caught on leaked video shooting dozens of prisoners into trench in Damascus suburb near Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk
By GHAITH ALSAYED
View of the Israel-Syria border area, as seen from the northern Golan Heights, April 11, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
April 19, 2026, 5:54 pm
Syria says it foiled Hezbollah-linked cross-border attack planned from area near Israel
Interior ministry says cell arranged to fire missiles across the border from Quneitra province, which borders Israel, without specifying which country was the intended target
By AFP and ToI Staff
Visitors attend the official opening of the 57th Damascus International Book Fair in Damascus, Syria, February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
February 12, 2026, 6:06 pm
Islamist and Kurdish texts banned under Assad openly displayed at Damascus book fair
Sayyid Qutb’s ‘Milestones,’ biography of ex-al-Qaeda figure on sale; event coordinator says no books are banned, aside from those that offend country’s norms or glorify old regime
By Kinda Makieh and Firas Makdesi
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 28, 2026 (MAXIM SHIPENKOV / POOL / AFP)
January 28, 2026, 7:37 pm
Syrian leader meets Putin as Russia eyes deal on military bases
Russian president has sought to build relations with Ahmed al-Sharaa since toppling of ally Assad, lauds new government’s actions to ‘restore Syria’s territorial integrity’
By AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa shake hands during their meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on October 15, 2025. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP)
January 28, 2026, 1:08 pm
Syrian leader to meet Putin for second time, as Russian presence in country dwindles
Sharaa has struck friendly tone with Moscow, but still seeks Assad’s extradition from Russia, where he fled after coup
By AFP
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