A Syrian court has sentenced the country's former grand mufti, Ahmed Hassoun, to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of offenses including inciting civil war and involvement in intentional killings, the BBC reported.
Hassoun, 77, served as Syria's top Muslim cleric from 2005 until 2021 under former President Bashar Al-Assad. The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus ruled that the religious institution he headed had been used to provide justification for the Assad regime's military and security operations during the country's 13-year conflict.
According to state news agency SANA, the court found that the institution provided religious backing for operations including the use of barrel bombs against populated areas.
"The court found that the official religious establishment, headed by the office of the mufti, had been used to provide religious cover for military and security operations and justify them publicly, including the use of barrel bombs against populated areas," SANA reported.
Hassoun denied the allegations and told the court that statements and video footage used against him had been taken out of context. He maintained that he had attempted to save people from the regime.
The ruling makes Hassoun the 10th figure from the Assad era to be convicted by Syria's transitional authorities.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said the proceedings were considered against the backdrop of the uprising that began in 2011, when Assad's government violently suppressed a pro-democracy movement, triggering a civil war that killed more than 600,000 people and displaced 12 million.
Prosecutors accused Hassoun of encouraging violence against civilians and backing the Assad government through religious sermons, public appearances, statements and media interviews.
Among the evidence cited was a 2015 interview on Syrian television during the battle for Aleppo. Hassoun urged civilians to leave rebel-controlled eastern Aleppo and said that "every area from which a shell is fired should be completely destroyed".
The court also determined that Hassoun had "received money and gifts in exchange for intervening to secure the release of civilians detained by security agencies". SANA additionally reported that he regularly provided financial assistance to Liwa al-Quds, a militia aligned with the Assad regime.
The court handed Hassoun multiple sentences: life imprisonment for inciting civil war and sectarian conflict, 20 years for incitement to intentional killing, 10 years for principal participation in intentional killing and three years for abuse of office.
The case is part of a broader effort by Syria's transitional authorities to prosecute senior figures from the former regime. Assad fled to Russia after being ousted by rebel forces two years ago and was sentenced to death in absentia earlier this month for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
On August 11, the same court convicted Assad, his brother Maher and seven other former senior regime figures of crimes against humanity and sentenced them to death. Atef Najib, Assad's cousin and former head of Political Security intelligence in Deraa, was the only defendant in that case tried in person.
A week later, Wassim Assad, another cousin of the former president and a commander of a pro-regime militia, was also sentenced to death after being convicted of offenses including murder.