Syrian Court Imposes Death Sentences in Connection with 2025 Coastal Violence Trials

A Syrian Military Criminal Court in Aleppo has handed down death sentences to two supporters of the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime for their roles in the March 2025 uprising, while also convicting members of the new government’s security forces in connection with the killing of hundreds of Alawite minority civilians.

The court sentenced Al-Waddah Ismail and Maher Ali to death after convicting them of inciting civil war, fomenting sectarian fighting, and leading armed gangs in attacks on public forces. A third defendant, Maher Othman, received a 12-year prison sentence.

In separate rulings, Mohammed Bakour, a member of the new government’s Defence Ministry 82nd Division, was found guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ammar Abdul Aal was sentenced to three years for torture, while Abdul Raouf Bakrjan and Mohammed Zarzouri were acquitted.

The judgments follow a government committee investigation into sectarian violence that erupted in March 2025 across predominantly Alawite coastal regions, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,426 people, mostly civilians.

The probe identified 298 suspects implicated in serious violations, including murder, premeditated murder, looting, destruction and burning of homes, torture, and sectarian insults during the violence from March 7 to 9, 2025.

According to the investigation, 238 army and security force members were killed by pro-Assad fighters in the provinces of Tartous, Latakia, and Hama. Following the clashes, approximately 200,000 pro-government military reinforcements were deployed to the area and are accused of carrying out revenge killings against Alawite civilians.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Damascus, stated that the uprising was initiated by individuals still loyal to the Assad regime, which collapsed and saw its leadership flee at the end of 2024. After the regime’s fall, former soldiers and militia members retreated to the mountains and launched the March 2025 uprising against the new government.

Pett added that forces loyal to the new government have been accused of killing Alawite minority civilians in retaliatory attacks. She noted that the current trials cover seven men involved in the initial pro-Assad uprising and seven members of the new government’s security forces accused of carrying out revenge attacks.

SANA reported that on September 17, the court had already issued verdicts in cases involving four additional defendants from the same coastal region events: one was sentenced to death, one to life imprisonment, one to 20 years in prison, and the fourth was acquitted.

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