French judges have sentenced Bashar al-Assad’s uncle, Rifaat al-Assad, the ‘Butcher of Hama’, to four years in prison after convicting him of money laundering and misappropriating Syrian public funds to build up a €90m property empire in France.
The court also ordered the confiscation of Rifaat al-Assad’s assets in France as well as property worth €29m in London.

Assad, 82, a former military commander, was tried in December but was not present in court because of health reasons, his lawyers said. He denied the charges.