AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The case of Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, Syria's former Mufti, after the fifth hearing session at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus, has entered its final phase, and the court has set August 24 for final review and sentencing. This case, alongside other trials of former regime figures, represents an important test for the new Syrian government's claim of implementing "transitional justice."
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported that in the final session, the prosecution, the plaintiff, and the defense attorney presented their arguments, and Hassoun's final statements were also heard. After these steps were completed, the case was placed before the court for final review and verdict.
The Syrian prosecution had previously called for a death sentence for Hassoun in this case; however, no final verdict has been issued against him to date, and the court's final decision is to be announced at the August 24 session.
Hassoun faces charges in this case, including incitement to violence, justification of murder, and support for the repressive actions of the former government. The case also relates to his connection with security and military officials of the former regime and his support for Iranian and Russian interventions in Syria.
However, the significance of this case is not limited to Hassoun personally. Syria's new judicial system, formed after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, is now attempting to pursue a series of trials against figures of the former regime under the banner of "transitional justice"; a process that, given the history and composition of the political and military forces dominating the new Damascus structure, faces questions about the neutrality, inclusiveness, and independence of the transitional justice process.
Ahmad al-Shara (al-Jolani), the current ruler of Syria, was the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham for years before assuming this position; a group whose roots trace back to Jabhat al-Nusra, the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Therefore, to assess the credibility of the transitional justice process in Syria, one cannot rely solely on the trial of former regime figures; rather, how all parties involved in the years of the Syrian war are treated and the rights of the defendants are observed are also of fundamental importance.
In this context, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had previously raised the question regarding Hassoun's trial of whether the new Syrian judicial system is capable of establishing a genuine and fair process to address charges related to incitement and participation in war crimes.
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