Syria court sentences Assad-era grand mufti to life in prison

A court in Syria has sentenced the country's former top Muslim cleric to life in prison after convicting him of crimes including inciting civil war and complicity in intentional killing.

Ahmed Hassoun, 77, was grand mufti between 2005 and 2021, during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

The Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus found the official religious establishment that he led was used to "provide cover" for regime military and security operations during the 13-year war, including the dropping of barrel bombs, state news agency Sana reported.

Hassoun, who denied the charges, is the 10th Assad-era figure to be sentenced under Syria's transitional authorities.

Assad himself, who fled to Russia after being overthrown by rebel forces two years ago, was sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity earlier this month.

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Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan told the court that Hassoun's case was examined against the background of events that began when the regime crushed a peaceful pro-democracy uprising against Assad in 2011 with lethal force, sparking a devastating civil war in which more than 600,000 people were killed and 12 million others were forced to flee their homes.

"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.

Barrel bombs are large cylindrical containers filled with explosives. According to one monitoring group, almost 82,000 barrel bombs were dropped by regime aircraft on rebel-held areas between 2012 and 2021, killing more than 11,000 civilians.

Prosecutors accused Hassoun of inciting violence against civilians and supporting the regime at religious lectures and public meetings, and in statements and media interviews.

They cited an interview with Syrian TV during the battle of Aleppo in 2015, when he told civilians to leave the rebel-held east of the city and said that "every area from which a shell is fired should be completely destroyed".

The court also found that the former grand mufti had "received money and gifts in exchange for intervening to secure the release of civilians detained by security agencies", and regularly provided financial support to a pro-regime militia, Liwa al-Quds, according to Sana.

Hassoun told the court that video clips had been taken out of context and that he had tried to save people from the regime.

Judge Aryan sentenced Hassoun to life in prison for inciting civil war and sectarian strife. He was also sentenced to 20 years for incitement to intentional killing, 10 years for principal participation in intentional killing, and three years for abuse of office.