‘Barrel bomb mufti’ Ahmad Hassoun handed life sentence in Syria trial

Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan sentenced Hassoun to life in prison for crimes that incited hatred.Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, a top Muslim religious official during ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, has been sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed during the country’s nearly 14-year war.The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus issued the ruling on Monday, finding Hassoun guilty of a range of crimes, including inciting violence, justifying killings and the abuse of his office.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Syria’s foreign minister says door open for diplomacy with Israellist 2 of 4Envoy says Israel did not give the US notice before strikes on Syrian baselist 3 of 4Israel bombs Syria as US envoy says base attack aimed at ‘baiting’ Turkiyelist 4 of 4Syria, Israel hold US-mediated talks in Jordan to de-escalate tensionsend of listHassoun, who was Syria’s grand mufti between 2005 and 2021, was arrested at Damascus airport in March 2025, after he emerged from hiding a month earlier. His trial began on June 25.The court handed Hassoun several prison sentences for various charges.Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan sentenced Hassoun to life in prison for crimes that incited hatred and contributed to the deterioration of the situation.Hassoun was also sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of inciting killings.The judge also sentenced him to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of prolonging the killings.The court also ordered the cleric to pay compensation to make restitution to a number of his victims as well.Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said that Hassoun and the official religious institution he headed was used to provide religious cover for military and security operations during Assad’s rule.His teachings also justified the use of barrel bombs that targeted civilian areas and caused widespread destruction, which constitutes a violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, said the judge.