Syria's judiciary on Thursday issued its first verdicts over the massacres of Alawites on the Syrian coast last year, sentencing a former member of government forces to 20 years in prison. A supporter of deposed president Bashar al-Assad received a death sentence and another was sentenced to life in jail. 

Issued on:

1 min Reading time

People in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on March 11, 2025 protest against a recent wave of sectarian violence targeting Syria's Alawite minority.
People in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli protest against sectarian violence targeting the Alawite minority, in March 2025. © Delil Souleiman, AFP

A court in Syria on Thursday sentenced a former member of government forces to 20 years in prison, while two supporters of the deposed government received a death sentence and life in prison, in the first verdicts over the killing of Alawites on the Syrian coast last year.

Fourteen people were accused of involvement in massacres, in a trial that opened last November. They were seven government forces members and seven supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad.

Read moreExclusive: Syria's Latakia province reels after massacre of Alawites

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Keywords for this article