Syria: death sentence against Assad with no consequences?

Assad’s fate should serve as a warning to his patron, Putin, says The Daily Telegraph:

“Syrians endured decades of repression before finally turning against Assad. Russians … may eventually decide that they have had enough of Putin too. Dictators often imagine that fear will last forever. History suggests otherwise. … War crimes and crimes against humanity do not simply disappear because the perpetrator has an army, a palace or a powerful friend. Eventually, they catch up with you. Assad may be hiding in Moscow today, but history has a very long memory. Assad’s protector Vladimir Putin would do well to remember that.”