OREANDA-NEWS  A Syrian court has sentenced former leader Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia. This is reported by SANA.

In addition, the Damascus Criminal Court sentenced to death the only person present in the dock, former brigadier general of the Syrian army and Assad's cousin Atef Najib.

"The death penalty is being imposed on Atef Najib and 8 others who are on the run, led by Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher, for committing war crimes, murders, torture and crimes against humanity against the Syrian people," the agency said in a statement.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the issue of the extradition of Bashar al-Assad from Russia to the territory of the republic has not been raised for a long time. He stressed that against the background of possible reprisals, Moscow granted asylum to the ex-president of the Arab country solely for humanitarian reasons.