New death sentences and prison terms for those convicted in events on the Syrian coast

The Syrian judiciary issued two death sentences on Thursday against two supporters of the former regime and sentenced another defendant, a member of the current Ministry of Defense, to 20 years in prison for their involvement in the bloody violence that occurred in Syria’s coastal region last year.

The predominantly Alawite coastal area witnessed sectarian violence from March 6, 2025, over a three-day period. Authorities accused armed men loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad of instigating the violence through attacks that killed dozens of their members.

In September, the judiciary had already issued a death sentence and a life imprisonment term against two supporters of the former regime, and sentenced a member of the Ministry of Defense under the new authorities to 20 years in prison in the same case.

On Thursday, the courts completed trials that began in November 2025 in the northern city of Aleppo, handing down sentences against three defendants who were supporters of the former regime and seven members of the Ministry of Defense.

Zakaria Bakkar, head of the Military Criminal Court, announced the death penalty by hanging for two Assad loyalists “for the crime of assault aimed at inciting civil war and sectarian conflict,” and for “the crime of leading and commanding armed gangs.”

The third defendant was sentenced to 12 years in prison “for the offense of intervening in the crime of assault aimed at inciting civil war and sectarian conflict (...) and for the offense of intervening in leading and commanding armed gangs.”

The judge sentenced another defendant, a member of the current Ministry of Defense, to 20 years in prison “for the crime of intentional murder.”

A sentence of three years in prison was handed down to another defendant for the crime of torture, while two others received two-year sentences in the same case.

The violence in Syria’s coastal region claimed approximately 1,700 lives, the vast majority of whom were Alawites, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In July 2025, an investigative committee appointed by the authorities announced that it had identified 298 individuals suspected of involvement in violence targeting the Alawite minority, noting that it had verified “serious violations” that resulted in the deaths of 1,426 Alawites, whose names had been documented.