Syria’s Former Grand Mufti Sentenced to Life in Prison

A court in Damascus on Monday sentenced Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, who served as Syria’s grand mufti during Bashar al-Assad’s rule, to life in prison. Hassoun was convicted of a series of offenses, including incitement to violence, justifying killings, abuse of his position, and crimes the court defined as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court found that Hassoun was involved in actions intended to stir up civil war and sectarian conflict. It also found that he provided ongoing financial support to militias operating alongside Assad regime forces during the civil war. The court additionally ordered that his assets be confiscated for the state treasury.

The indictment alleged that during his tenure as mufti, he used his position to maintain ties with senior security and military officials and with leaders of militias affiliated with the regime. It further alleged that he encouraged the suppression of civilians in areas that rose up against Assad’s rule. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Hassoun, but the court instead imposed a life sentence.

Earlier this month, the same court sentenced Syria’s ousted president, Bashar al-Assad, who is staying in Russia, to death. A similar sentence was handed down to his brother Maher, who fled Syria with him, and to his cousin Atef Najeeb, a former brigadier general in the Syrian army and head of the security apparatus.

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan convicted the three men of a long list of crimes committed against the Syrian people during their years in power. The ruling stated that Najeeb was responsible for war crimes. Najeeb was also accused of torturing detainees. He denied all of the allegations against him. In the ruling, the judge determined that Assad and his brother were directly responsible for the premeditated murder of large numbers of civilians, systematic torture, arbitrary arrests, and serious crimes against humanity.