A Syrian court has sentenced former Grand Mufti, Ahmad Hassoun to life imprisonment for crimes linked to the rule of ex-President Bashar al-Assad, including inciting violence and justifying killings.
The court found that Hassoun and the religious establishment he headed provided religious justification for military and security operations carried out during Assad’s rule
The head of the Fourth Criminal Court, Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan on Monday, said the official religious establishment under Assad had helped legitimise violence against civilians, including the use of barrel bombs in populated areas.
Hassoun, a prominent Assad loyalist who publicly defended the former government and its policies, was convicted by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus of several offences, including inciting violence, justifying killings and abusing his official position.
According to the judge, the barrel bomb attacks caused widespread destruction and amounted to violations of international humanitarian law.
The court handed Hassoun separate prison terms for individual offences. He received a 20-year sentence for inciting killings and another 10-year sentence for prolonging the killings, with the various convictions forming part of the life imprisonment ruling.
The court ordered Hassoun to pay compensation to some of the victims affected by the crimes for which he was convicted.
During the proceedings, prosecutors and the court examined Hassoun’s public statements and religious lectures delivered during the Assad era, particularly those in which he called on members of the Syrian military and security forces to confront opposition groups.
The court also found that Hassoun made public statements through Syrian media calling on civilians in eastern Aleppo to leave their homes.
The judge said such statements, together with Hassoun’s broader activities as the country’s top Muslim cleric, contributed to providing religious cover for the government’s military and security operations.