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Syria Court Sentences Grand Mufti Hassoun to Life

8/25/2026

Summary

Hassoun Sentenced

Syria’s Fourth Criminal Court sentenced former Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun to life imprisonment.
The court found him guilty of inciting violence and justifying killings.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan ordered confiscation of his assets and barred him from amnesty.
He received a 20-year term for inciting killings and a 10-year term for prolonging them.
Observers noted his June 25 trial followed his March 2025 arrest and marked the first Sunni official tried.

Summary

Mufti Funds Militia

Grand Mufti of Syria allegedly gave tens of thousands of dollars to Liwa al-Quds militia.
He reportedly cooperated with intelligence agencies since the 1980s, providing information on lesson attendees.
He praised Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and Syrian Republican Guard general Issam Zahreddine.
His 22-year-old son Sariya was shot dead in a 2011 ambush blamed on opposition fighters.
Opponents dubbed him the “Barrel Bomb Mufti” for justifying the regime’s barrel-bomb use.

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Hassoun Sentenced

Syria’s Fourth Criminal Court sentenced former Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun to life imprisonment.
The court found him guilty of inciting violence and justifying killings.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan ordered confiscation of his assets and barred him from amnesty.
He received a 20-year term for inciting killings and a 10-year term for prolonging them.
Observers noted his June 25 trial followed his March 2025 arrest and marked the first Sunni official tried.

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