Key facts
- Former Grand Mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun received a life sentence in Syria.
- Hassoun was convicted of inciting sectarian hatred and abuse of office.
- He was arrested in March 2025 while attempting to leave the country.
- The court also imposed additional prison sentences for incitement to murder and participation in killings.
- Hassoun's assets were ordered confiscated by the court.
The former Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Damascus court on charges including inciting sectarian hatred and abuse of office. Hassoun, who held the highest religious office for over 16 years and frequently appeared alongside Bashar al-Assad, was arrested in March 2025 while attempting to leave the country.
The court stated that Hassoun was guilty of having "stoked civil war and sectarian clashes." He received additional prison sentences totaling three to 20 years for "intentional incitement to murder," "direct participation" in killings, and inciting "sectarian and racial hatred." The court also ordered the confiscation of his assets.
Hassoun is the tenth figure from the ousted Assad regime to be convicted by the new transitional government. This sentencing follows the August 11 conviction of Bashar al-Assad in absentia, along with his brother Maher and five former security officials, for crimes committed during the Syrian civil war between 2011 and 2024. Former security official Atif Najib and Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of the ousted president, were also sentenced to death in absentia and were present in court.
The Assad government collapsed in December 2024, ending a civil war that began in 2011 and resulted in over 500,000 deaths and more than six million refugees and internally displaced persons. The new government is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former commander in militant groups, who is seeking to align the state with Washington and Turkey.