Syria: Former grand mufti and Assad ally receives life sentence in Syria

Syria: Former grand mufti and Assad ally receives life sentence in Syria Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 08/24/2026 - 15:24 Top religious cleric among high-profile figures from ousted government to face trial This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 24 August shows Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmed Hassoun listening to the judge's verdict from the defendant's cage in the courtroom in Damascus (SANA/AFP) Off The former top Muslim cleric under Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Syria , a Damascus court said on Monday. Former Grand Mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun, who was arrested at the airport in March 2025 while attempting to leave the country, was sentenced over charges including inciting sectarian hatred and abuse of office. The Damascus court said Hassoun, the tenth figure from the ousted regime to be convicted by the new transitional government, was guilty of having "stoked civil war and sectarian clashes" as he stood in the courtroom.