Assad-Era Grand Mufti Ahmad Hassoun Sentenced to Life for War Crimes

Damascus's Fourth Criminal Court sentenced Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun — Syria's grand mufti from 2005 to 2021 under Bashar al-Assad, nicknamed the 'barrel bomb mufti' — to life in prison on August 24, 2026, plus additional consecutive terms (20 years for inciting killings, 10 years for prolonging killings) and confiscation of his assets, after convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan said the official religious establishment under Hassoun provided 'religious cover for military and security operations' and publicly justified barrel bombs used against civilian areas. Hassoun was arrested at Damascus airport in March 2025 after emerging from hiding, and is the first senior Sunni religious figure — rather than a regime military or security official — tried in Syria's transitional justice process.