Bashar Assad is Accused of Committing Crimes Against Humanity, and is Not Entitled to Seek Asylum
Available In
The Hague – Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)
On Sunday, December 8, 2024, Russia’s Channel One reported that the deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad had arrived in Moscow with his family. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that President Vladimir Putin had decided to grant Assad and his family asylum in Russia on “humanitarian grounds.” However, this decision appears to be based purely on political considerations and does not align with international legal standards.
Bashar Assad has committed crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Syrian people. As the Syrian Network for Human Rights’ (SNHR) database shows, the former president is accused of killing at least 202,000 Syrian civilians, including 15,000 who died under torture, of forcibly disappearing 96,000 others, and of displacing approximately 13 million more citizens, in addition to numerous other heinous violations, including the use of chemical weapons.