Syrian court sentences detained Assad cousin to death for crimes against humanity

A Syrian court on Tuesday handed a death sentence to Wassim al-Assad who appeared in the dock, a cousin of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad who was himself sentenced to death in absentia last week.

The 46-year-old relative of Assad was convicted over atrocities committed under the autocrat’s rule during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Assad’s cousin was convicted of multiple murders and “murder accompanied by torture and brutality … classified as crimes...