Damascus court sentences former Syrian grand mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun to life in prison

Damascus court issues life term

On Monday, 24 August 2026, a court in Damascus sentenced former grand mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun to life in prison for his actions during the rule of deposed president Bashar al-Assad. The religious cleric appeared in person at the tribunal to hear the verdict, which makes him the tenth official from the previous government to receive a criminal sentence under Syria's new authorities. Judges found Hassoun guilty of inciting civil war, provoking sectarian and racial strife, and abusing his official position. The court also convicted him of intentional incitement to murder and direct participation in killings during the conflict. In addition to the life sentence, the court handed down separate prison terms ranging between three and 20 years for related offenses and ordered the full confiscation of all his assets.

Career and airport arrest

The verdict marks the first criminal ruling issued against a top religious authority in the post-Assad legal proceedings. Hassoun held the position of grand mufti, the highest Islamic clerical post in Syria, for more than 16 years following his appointment by Assad in 2004. Throughout the civil war spanning from 2011 to 2024, he operated as a vocal loyalist of the state apparatus, regularly delivering public sermons and standing beside Assad during state religious events. His official tenure concluded in 2021 when Assad enacted a presidential decree that abolished the office of grand mufti entirely and transferred its ecclesiastical powers to a government ministry responsible for religious affairs. That dismissal followed widespread controversy in November 2021, when Hassoun delivered an idiosyncratic interpretation of a Quranic verse during the funeral of singer Sabah Fakhri, triggering severe backlash from religious and popular circles. Following the collapse of the government in December 2024, Hassoun attempted to flee the country but was detained by security personnel at the airport in March 2025.

Wider prosecutions of former officials

Hassoun's sentencing follows judicial rulings against core figures of the fallen government. On 11 August 2026, the Syrian judiciary sentenced Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and five former security chiefs to death in absentia after convicting them of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed throughout the 2011–2024 civil war. The former president had escaped to Russia immediately after losing power in December 2024. In separate proceedings conducted with the defendants present, Syrian judges handed down death sentences to former security official Atif Najib and the ousted leader's cousin Wassim el-Assad. Prosecutors proved that Wassim el-Assad had organized and directed two armed militias responsible for deadly assaults across the Damascus countryside and had actively incited civil conflict.

Human rights response and judicial concerns

The progression of capital sentences and trials has drawn scrutiny from international organizations. Representatives from the United Nations and human rights groups voiced objections to the imposition of the death penalty, urging Syria's transitional leadership to construct an impartial judicial framework centered on victim restitution. Balkees Jarrah, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, called for structural reforms in the judicial process.

To advance justice in the face of the litany of serious crimes committed in Syria, it is not enough to hand down convictions; a system capable of delivering competent, impartial, and independent justice must be established.