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Hassoun on Trial
A Syrian court opened the trial of former Grand Mufti Ahmad Hassoun in Damascus on Thursday, charging him with issuing fatwas that authorized the killing of Syrians during the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
“A Syrian court has opened the trial of former Grand Mufti Ahmad Hassoun on charges of issuing fatwas that authorised the killing of Syrians during the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime”
SANA reported that the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus launched proceedings against Hassoun, who served as Syria’s top religious authority under Assad until the regime’s fall in December 2024, and the session was attended by Judge Hassan al-Turba.
Hassoun, arrested in March 2025 as he attempted to flee the country under an existing arrest warrant, faces charges of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity, incitement to murder and other offenses.
The trial is framed by SANA as part of a broader transitional justice process aimed at holding perpetrators of wartime violations accountable, while Syrians dubbed Hassoun the “Mufti of Barrels” in reference to barrel bombs the former regime dropped on civilian areas.
In a separate account of the same case, Arab News PK said Hassoun, 77, appeared in court in Damascus charged with war crimes and that he used his Friday sermons and public appearances to justify and support the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown against civilians during the country’s 13 years of civil war.
Prosecutor, Witnesses, and Critics
The session in Damascus was attended by the republic’s public prosecutor, Judge Hassan al-Turba, alongside representatives of local and international human rights organisations, according to SANA as cited by TRT World.
TRT World also said Hassoun was known for public statements backing the use of force against opposition groups, and that Syrians dubbed him the "Mufti of Barrels" for the barrel bombs the former regime dropped on civilian areas.
Al Jazeera Net’s Beyond the News episode on June 25, 2026 discussed “structural and technical challenges standing in the way of accelerating the implementation of effective procedures and steps along the path of transitional justice in Syria,” linking the trial process to broader delays and concerns.
In the same Al Jazeera Net program framing, the episode examined “the main societal and security concerns raised by those movements,” referring to popular protests that demanded speeding up accountability.
While the Hassoun trial proceeds in Damascus, SANA’s reporting as relayed by TRT World places the case inside a transitional justice effort after Assad’s fall in December 2024 and the appointment of Ahmed al Sharaa as president of Syria’s transitional government in January 2025.
Transitional Justice Stakes
Beyond Hassoun’s trial, Syria’s transitional justice process is described as expanding into public hearings in Damascus, where SANA said the first hearing was held yesterday at the Damascus Palace of Justice.
“Syria puts 'Mufti of Barrels' on trial for inciting killings during Assad-era uprising Former Grand Mufti Hassoun faces war crimes, crimes against humanity charges over fatwas authorizing killing of Syrians Şahin Demir 25 June 2026•Update: 25 June 2026 A Syrian court on Thursday opened the trial of former Grand Mufti Ahmad Hassoun on charges of issuing fatwas that authorized the killing of Syrians during the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime”
SANA reported that Atef Najib appeared in person before the court, while Bashar al-Assad and Maher al-Assad were tried in absentia, and it said the trial is part of proceedings against senior officials responsible for violations committed during the years of the Syrian revolution.
L’actualité described the same opening of a first public trial in Syria of officials linked to Bashar al-Assad, saying Atef Najib, a former brigade general who headed the political security branch in Daraa province, appeared before the court to answer charges related to 'crimes against the Syrian people'.
The stakes of the process are also tied to the risk of delay, with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoting Adnan Al-Sayyid saying the delay in launching a clear path for transitional justice “is accumulating daily, fueling resentment in people’s hearts,” especially among families of the martyrs, the injured, and the displaced.
In the same Al-Araby Al-Jadeed account, governance expert Zaidoun Al-Zaabi warned that Syria’s civil peace “has been and remains under threat,” citing “very bad economic conditions,” “severe governance weakness,” and parts of the country remaining outside state control.
