Topic - Bashar Assad

September 1965) is a Syrian former politician, doctor, and military officer who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until his overthrow in 2024 after the Syrian civil war. As president, Assad was commander-in-chief of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He is the son of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria from 1970 to 2000. - Source: Wikipedia

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Blankets used by prisoners as mattresses are seen at a detention facility run by military intelligence during former Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, in Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Syrian sentenced to 26 years in prison by Dutch court for crimes against humanity

By Mike Corder - Associated Press

FILE - An aerial view of a mass grave where are buried those who were killed by the sarin struck during a 2013 chemical weapons attack that was blamed on then President Bashar Assad's forces, in Zamalka neighbourhood, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, file)

Watchdog says dozens of Assad-era chemical weapons found in Syria in recent weeks

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Syrian children walk along a dirt path at the edge of al-Karama camp, built from scratch with light-brick structures covered with fabric and housing internally displaced Syrians near the village of Atmeh, Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Cash-strapped Syrians living in tent settlements struggle to return home after Assad’s fall

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A voter casts a ballot during follow-up parliamentary elections in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Syria holds legislative elections in Kurdish-majority northeast

By Hogir Al Abdo and Kareem Chehayeb - Associated Press

Atef Najib, former head of the Political Security Branch in the Daraa area during Bashar Assad's rule, sits in the defendants' cage during a trial session at the Palace of Justice in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials opens in Damascus

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Protesters and relatives of victims of the killings known as the Tadamon massacre gather to demand the execution of Amjad Yousef, a former intelligence officer allegedly linked to the killings, after the Interior Ministry announced his arrest, in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Syrian authorities arrest ex-intelligence officer tied to a leaked video of a massacre

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FILE -A boy steps over pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his late father, Hafez Assad, right, Salamiyah, east of Hama, Syria, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed, File)

Trial of Syrian man accused of torture during Syria’s civil war begins in the Netherlands

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FILE - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, center right, arrive at a ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 17, 2025. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Russia sits back as the Iran war escalates, expecting long-term gains

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A visitor looks through a book at a stall selling Islamic titles during the 57th Damascus International Book Fair in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, the first edition since the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

The Damascus book fair draws crowds, with censorship eased in post-Assad Syria

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Security members carry belongings as they leave the damaged Syrian Defense Ministry building allegedly hit by several Israeli airstrikes, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Trump pressures Netanyahu on Syria as Israeli actions threaten fragile stability

By Ahmed Qwaidar and Jacob Wirtschafter - Special to The Washington Times

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, greets people as he attends celebrations marking the first anniversary of the ousting of former President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) I

Syria welcomes the permanent repeal of sweeping U.S. sanctions

Associated Press

Former detainee Mohammad Marwan walks down a street on his way to the Homs Recovery Center in the village of Tell Dahab in the Homs countryside, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A year after Bashar Assad fled, Syria struggles to heal

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Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Why regime change in Venezuela won’t become America’s next quagmire

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FILE - Hilala Meryeh, a 64-year-old Palestinian mother of four, weeps in the middle of the dingy identification room after finding her son's body at the Al-Mojtahed Hospital morgue in Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Exiled Syrian opens up about death-defying smuggling operation that showed proof of Assad’s cruelty

By Sam McNeil - Associated Press

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa shake hands during their meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Syrian leader meets with Putin in Moscow

By Associated Press - Associated Press