Ahmad Hassoun faces verdict in Damascus court

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On Monday, the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus is scheduled to deliver a verdict in the criminal trial of Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, the former grand mufti of Syria who served from 2005 to 2021. Prosecutors have requested the death penalty for Hassoun, who was arrested in March 2025 at Damascus International Airport after emerging from hiding following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government in December 2024. Hassoun faces charges of inciting violence and providing religious justification for state actions, including his alleged role in approving the executions of 13,000 inmates at Sednaya prison between 2012 and 2017.

Consequences

A guilty verdict and subsequent death sentence would represent a significant application of the Fourth Criminal Court's mandate regarding transitional justice cases. The trial serves as a public legal accounting for a figure previously central to the religious and political rhetoric of the former Syrian administration.

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