Syria: Public Prosecution seeks execution of Ahmad Hassoun, Assad regime's mufti

The Judicial Palace in Damascus hosted the fifth session of the trial of Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, the mufti of the ousted Assad regime, on Thursday before the specialized Fourth Court of Cassation, as part of Syria’s transitional justice process. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Court of Cassation set August 24 as the date for the deliberation and sentencing session.

Ridif Mustafa, director of the Accountability and Justice Department at Syria’s National Transitional Justice Authority, stated that the session witnessed the Public Prosecutor’s Office, based on evidence and established facts in the case file, requesting the application of the maximum legal penalty against the defendant: the death penalty.

On his part, the public prosecutor’s representative submitted a written memorandum affirming the defendant’s responsibility for the charges against him and calling for the imposition of the harshest penalties. Meanwhile, the defense team requested an additional period to complete its case, a request left to the court’s discretion to accept or reject.

During the fourth session of the trial of the ousted regime’s mufti on July 29, the court heard testimony from a confidential witness who claimed to have been a victim of financial extortion by Ahmad Hassoun, during Hassoun’s attempts to secure the release of his sister, who had been arrested in Damascus in 2012 by security branches.

The Fourth Court of Cassation began Hassoun’s first trial on June 25, following his arrest by Syrian authorities in March 2025 while attempting to leave the country, based on an arrest warrant issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.