Atef Najib, the former head of political security in southern Syria’s Deraa province who was detained by Syrian authorities in January last year, was sentenced to death for “crimes against humanity”.

Najib, who launched a deadly crackdown on protesters in Deraa in 2011 that led to the uprising and later civil war, stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence.

His crimes include murder, “the intentional killing of children under 15” and “torture leading to death”, according to the court.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said Najib had denied the charges against him and showed “no remorse”.