The United States sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on August 18, 2026. The court rejected the measures, describing them as an attack on judicial independence.
A Damascus court sentenced Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia on August 11, 2026. The ruling is a major development in Syria’s efforts to address crimes linked to the former government, while rights groups have raised fair-trial concerns.
Lebanon’s parliament voted on August 11, 2026, to abolish the death penalty. The new law replaces it with life imprisonment with hard labor, but it still requires the president’s signature.
