Syrian court sentences two to death over 2025 coastal violence

What the report says

A Syrian military criminal court in Aleppo has issued the latest verdicts in cases tied to deadly violence in the country’s coastal regions in March 2025, according to Al Jazeera’s report and state media cited in it. The proceedings involve both supporters of the former Bashar al-Assad government and members of the new authorities’ security forces, reflecting the two sides blamed for violence that followed the collapse of Assad’s rule.

The court sentenced two men identified as al-Assad loyalists, Al-Waddah Ismail and Maher Ali, to death. A third defendant, Maher Othman, received a 12-year prison term, though the report said the court did not immediately detail the charge. In separate rulings, Mohammed Bakour, described as a member of the Defence Ministry’s 82nd Division, was given 20 years for intentional homicide, while Ammar Abdul Aal received three years for torture. Two other defendants were acquitted.

Al Jazeera said the cases stem from investigations into attacks in Tartous, Latakia and Hama, where a government committee said serious abuses occurred on March 7-9, 2025, including killings, looting, burning homes and sectarian insults. The report said at least 1,426 people, mostly civilians, were killed over several days of sectarian violence in predominantly Alawite areas. It also said the committee identified 298 suspects and that this is the first time government-linked personnel have been tried over such violence, a potentially significant step for accountability in post-war Syria.