Syria court gives first Alawite massacre sentences

Syria's judiciary issued its first verdicts on Thursday over the 2025 killing of hundreds of members of the Alawite minority on the Syrian coast.

A court sentenced a former member of government forces to 20 years in prison for murder. Two supporters of the deposed government received a death sentence and life in prison.

Fourteen people were accused of involvement in the massacres in a trial that opened in November 2025. They included seven members of government forces and seven supporters of former president Bashar al-Assad. Further verdicts are expected next week.

Several defendants believed to be Assad supporters pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial. One said he was in Lebanon during the violence. The death sentence was issued for “assault aimed at provoking civil war and sectarian clashes”.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, criticised the trial, saying “one of the largest mass massacres Syria has seen during the transition period is being reduced to just a few cases”. He told AFP that trying a few people did not amount to real justice.

A national commission of inquiry said the massacres left at least 1,426 people dead. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 1,700 people were killed.

The commission said it verified serious violations that led to the deaths of mostly civilians and identified 298 suspects. It also said 238 members of the security forces and army were killed in attacks attributed to Assad supporters.

Syrian and international monitoring groups reported sectarian massacres in which entire families were killed by government forces, armed groups allied with the government and armed volunteers, including summary executions.

Assad, an Alawite, was toppled by an Islamist-led offensive in December 2024. Syria's religious minorities have expressed safety concerns despite assurances from the new authorities.