Syrian Court Delivers Death Sentences for 2025 Coastal Violence

A court in Syria has handed down death sentences to two individuals identified as supporters of the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime. They were convicted of inciting an uprising last year. Additionally, members of the current government’s security forces received significant prison terms for their involvement in the killing of hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority. The Military Criminal Court, located at the Justice Palace in Aleppo, issued the death sentences to Al-Waddah Ismail and Maher Ali, as reported by state media. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) stated that the two men were found guilty of attempting to instigate civil war and sectarian conflict, and of leading armed groups with the objective of attacking public forces. A third defendant, Maher Othman, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, though the specific charges leading to his conviction were not immediately detailed by the court. In separate proceedings, Mohammed Bakour, a member of the Defence Ministry’s 82nd Division within the new government, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of intentional homicide. SANA also reported that Ammar Abdul Aal received a three-year sentence for torture, while Abdul Raouf Bakrjan and Mohammed Zarzouri were acquitted. These verdicts stem from investigations conducted by a government committee into attacks that occurred in March of the previous year. The violence in the predominantly Alawite areas of Syria’s coastal regions resulted in the deaths of at least 1,426 people, the majority of whom were civilians. The defendants included individuals loyal to the former al-Assad regime and personnel from the new government’s security forces. This marks the first instance where government-linked individuals have faced trial for acts of violence. The government committee indicated that it had identified 298 suspects implicated in severe violations during the unrest in the Alawite heartland. The committee's investigation documented serious offenses against civilians between March 7 and 9, 2025, including murder, premeditated murder, looting, property destruction and arson, torture, and sectarian insults. SANA further reported that 238 members of the army and security forces were killed by pro-Assad fighters during the attacks in the provinces of Tartous, Latakia, and Hama. Approximately 200,000 pro-government military reinforcements were subsequently deployed to the area, allegedly carrying out revenge killings. Al Jazeera's Heidi Pett, reporting from Damascus, explained that the uprising was initiated by individuals still loyal to the al-Assad regime, who is himself a member of the Alawite religious minority. Pett noted, “After the Assad regime fell and its leadership fled the country at the end of 2024, supporters including loyal soldiers from the ousted regime as well as militia members fled to the mountains from where they launched an uprising in March 2025 against the new government”. She also stated that forces aligned with the new government are accused of perpetrating revenge killings against civilians from the Alawite minority. Pett elaborated, “These trials are for seven men who took part in the initial pro-Assad uprising, and also seven members of the new government’s security forces who were subsequently deployed into the area and are accused of carrying out revenge attacks.” SANA also indicated that on September 17, the court delivered verdicts in cases involving four other defendants accused of violations during the events in the coastal region last March. One defendant received a death sentence, another a life sentence, and a third was given a 20-year prison sentence, while the fourth was acquitted.