The verdict in the criminal case against Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, Syria’s former grand mufti, is set to be announced on Monday by the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus. Prosecutors have called for the death penalty for Hassoun, who faces charges including inciting violence and legitimising the former al-Assad government and its allies.
Hassoun served as Syria’s grand mufti from 2005 to 2021 and was detained at Damascus International Airport in March 2025 after emerging from hiding. His trial began on June 25.
What the court is considering
The case concerns Hassoun’s alleged political and religious support for Bashar al-Assad’s government, allied militias and foreign forces that intervened in Syria. Prosecutors allege that he delivered sermons to the Syrian Army, called for violence against opposition-held areas and incited violence against civilians and refugees.
Evidence presented at trial includes alleged ties to Assad, former intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, senior army officers and militia leaders. Hassoun is also accused of praising figures linked to alleged war crimes, including former Republican Guard commander Issam Zahreddine, and supporting Iranian and Russian intervention in Syria.
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Hassoun’s rise and fall
Born in Aleppo in 1949, Hassoun followed his father into religious life, delivered sermons locally and served in parliament from 1990 to 1998. Assad appointed him grand mufti in 2005. He was known at that time for supporting interfaith dialogue and the separation of religion and state.
When the Syrian uprising began in 2011, Hassoun backed Assad, blamed foreign countries for interference and supported the government’s description of its opponents as terrorists. Critics later labelled him the “barrel-bomb mufti” because of his support for the regime and his rhetoric against opponents. Assad abolished the grand mufti position in 2021 without explaining the decision.
Why the trial matters
Hassoun is accused of making statements that threatened European countries with suicide-bombing campaigns if they attacked Syria. He also supported Iran’s involvement and praised Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, for his role in Syria.
Amnesty International said Hassoun was deputised by Assad to approve executions at Sednaya prison and reportedly approved 13,000 executions between 2012 and 2017. The case also examines allegations that he threatened residents of Idlib governorate with death or displacement and encouraged civilians in opposition areas to leave their homes.
Hassoun went into hiding after Assad’s government fell in December 2024. He was arrested at Damascus airport in March 2025 while trying to board a flight to Amman, Jordan. The source material does not state whether the court will accept the prosecution’s request for a death sentence.
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