A court in Damascus on Tuesday sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and his cousin Atef Najib to death.

They, along with several other individuals in the respective criminal case, are accused of committing crimes against the Syrian people, SANA reports.

The court said that Bashar al-Assad’s contribution to these crimes was that he was the highest decision-maker in Syria and used the country’s state institutions for this purpose.

Bashar al-Assad is currently in Russia.