Syria’s former grand mufti sentenced to life

Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, the senior religious official under ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Syrian court for war crimes.

The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus delivered the verdict on Monday, finding Hassoun guilty of inciting violence, legitimising killings and abusing his authority, among other offences.

Hassoun served as Syria’s Grand Mufti from 2005 to 2021. He was arrested at Damascus airport in March 2025, a month after emerging from hiding. His trial began on June 25.

Judge Fakhruddin al-Aryan sentenced Hassoun to life imprisonment for spreading hatred and contributing to the deterioration of the situation in the country.

He was also sentenced to an additional 20 years for inciting killings and 10 years for prolonging the killings.

The court also ordered him to pay compensation to some of the victims.

The judge said Hassoun and the religious institution he headed had been used to provide religious legitimacy for the military and security operations of the Assad government.

The court also cited Hassoun’s statements supporting and legitimising the use of “barrel bombs” in civilian areas. Such attacks caused widespread destruction and loss of life and constituted violations of international humanitarian law, the court said.

According to the court, Hassoun used religious speeches to encourage Syrian army officers and soldiers to oppose anti-government forces. He also publicly called on civilians in eastern Aleppo to leave their homes.

He urged the army to “destroy and wipe out” areas targeted by shelling and threatened to kill and displace residents of Idlib.

Given the gravity of his crimes, the court ruled that Hassoun would not be eligible for any general or special amnesty. It also ordered the confiscation of his money and property and their transfer to the state treasury.

The verdict comes weeks after Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad and five other security officials were sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Two cousins of the former ruler, Atif Najib and Wassim al-Assad, were also sentenced to death after being tried in person.

Source: Al Jazeera