Inside the Trial of Ahmad Hassoun #2: I Complain of You to God
TRIAL OF AHMAD HASSOUN
The Fourth Criminal Court – Damascus, Syria
Trial Monitoring Summary #2
Hearing Date: July 16, 2026
CAUTION: Some testimony may include graphic descriptions of torture, rape or other violent acts.
Note that this summary is not a verbatim transcript of the trial; it is merely an unofficial summary of the proceedings.
Throughout this summary, [information located in brackets are notes from our trial monitor] and “information placed in quotes are statements made by the witness, Judges or counsel.” The names and identifying information of witnesses have been redacted.
[Note: SJAC provides a summary of the proceedings while redacting certain details to protect witness privacy and to preserve the integrity of the trial.]
SJAC’s 2nd trial monitoring report details day 2 of the trial of Ahmad Hassoun in Damascus, Syria. On this trial day, seven witnesses delivered their testimony before the Court. Two of the witnesses testified against the Accused, while the remainder testified in his favor. The first witness testified that the Accused used to extort money from people in exchange for releasing their relatives from detention, and that the Accused's son, Abdurrahman, had a hand in that. The second witness alleged that the Accused used to submit people's names to the Military Security Branch. Meanwhile, the remaining witnesses testified that the Accused assisted in releasing detainees without anything in return.
Day 2 – July 16, 2026
[Note: SJAC subsequently verified certain details.]
The trial commenced at 11:00AM.
The Accused, Ahmad Badreddein Hassoun, was called and appeared before the Court. Defense Counsel C1, [redacted name], was present on his behalf pursuant to the power of attorney submitted in the case file. Plaintiff P1, [redacted name], was also present pursuant to the complaint submitted in the case file.
The in-person trial proceedings commenced publicly.
Witness Testimony:
W1, Witness 02
The Presiding Judge asked the witness to provide his testimony without addition or omission, whereupon W1 took the legal oath.
The Presiding Judge asked W1 whether he knew the Accused and whether there was any familial relationship or enmity with the Accused. P20 replied that he knew the Accused, but that there was no prior acquaintance or enmity between them.
W1 was questioned regarding his previous job. He testified he worked at the Religious Inspection Department in the Ministry of Awqaf from 2014 until 2018.
W1 testified that in 2015, they were invited to attend a ceremony with the commander of the Al-Quds Brigade, Muhammad Ahmad As-Sa’eed, where a number of security officers were honored. Thereafter, the commander of the Al-Quds Brigade began frequently visiting the Ministry to receive funds from the Accused or his son, Abdurrahman, ranging between approximately $15,000 and $30,000 per month over a period of years. The primary financier was Abdurrahman, the Accused's son, through various means such as releasing detainees in exchange for money and extorting the families of detainees to obtain gold in exchange for the release of their children.
W1 testified that he once asked the Accused to intercede to secure the release of a detainee, whereupon the Accused instructed him to contact his son Abdurrahman, who asked W1 to bring four gold liras and report to his father's office to resolve the matter. In 2018, Accused Ahmad Hassoun called the witness and asked him to come to the office of Aladdin Az-Za’tari, the Deputy Mufti, whereupon he was surprised by the presence of security personnel [from the Al-Khatib Branch] who arrested W1 for 88 days due to his failure to perform military service. [During his interrogation, a person named Tamim Muna, also known as Abu Hasan, questioned W1 about the Accused, and W1 praised the Accused at that time. Tamim Muna then informed W1 that he was sent to them by the Accused.]
The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W1. The Accused answered in the negative.
P1, [redacted name]
The Presiding Judge asked the witness to provide his testimony without addition or omission, whereupon P1 took the legal oath.
The Presiding Judge asked P1 whether he knew the Accused and whether there was any familial relationship or enmity with the Accused. P1 answered in the negative for both questions.
P1 recounted that he began his early life in the early 1980s by traveling from Al-Hasakah to Aleppo to attend religious lessons by Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Hout, Mahmoud Al-Akkam, and subsequently Ahmad Hassoun due to the ease and fluency of his language. After that, P1 was detained in 1986 while returning to the city of Aleppo by a patrol from the Military Security Branch in Al-Hasakah [which was headed at the time by Muhammad Mansoura], and he was interrogated to determine the reason for his visit to Aleppo and his relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood. P1 remained subject to torture for three days. The interrogators informed him that Ahmad Hassoun was the person providing them with the names of wanted individuals. The Presiding Judge inquired whether P1 had expressed any political stances before the Accused, which P1 denied.
The witness added that his relatives used to warn him against getting close to the Accused due to his bad reputation. P1 suffered harm as a result of having a security record against him, which prompted him to leave the city of Al-Hasakah and relocate to Dar’a.
The witness further addressed the Accused's arrival in As-Sanamayn [on March 26, 2011], following the President's Statue massacre, to threaten and warn those who “disobeyed the ruler.” P1 testified that the Accused's fatwas contributed to the shelling [to which cities were subjected].
The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W1. The Accused answered in the negative, adding, “I complain of you to God.”
W2, [redacted name]
The Presiding Judge asked the witness to provide his testimony without addition or omission, whereupon W2 took the legal oath.
The Presiding Judge asked W2 whether he knew the Accused and whether there was any familial relationship or enmity with the Accused. W2 answered in the negative for both questions.
W2 testified that the Accused saved him from the prisons of the “former regime.” W2 traveled in 2013 to Turkey and subsequently returned to fight in Syria. When the “former regime” stormed eastern Aleppo, W2 surrendered and was detained at the State Security Branch for 63 days, from 2016 until 2017. W2's family contacted the Accused, Ahmad Hassoun, to secure his release from prison, which was done without anything in return. W2 added that the Accused assisted him while he was serving in the military, and the Accused's son, Mulham, visited W2 at the Security Branch prior to his release. W2 added that he completed his four-year military service from home, noting that he used to criticize the Accused regarding the issue of interfaith tolerance.
The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W2. The Accused answered in the positive.
W3, [redacted name]
The Presiding Judge asked the witness to provide his testimony without addition or omission, whereupon W3 took the legal oath.
The Presiding Judge asked W3 whether he knew the Accused and whether there was any familial relationship or enmity with the Accused. W3 answered in the negative for both questions.
The witness testified that his son used to participate in demonstrations in Aleppo, and he was detained along with ten other young men from [their houses] in 2014, remaining for nine months at the Air Force Intelligence Branch. After that, the Accused released W3’s son and the young men who were with him from the Branch without anything in return, and sent them at his personal expense by airplane to Aleppo. The Accused provided assistance to the witness when his son fell ill, giving W3 $3,000 for a surgical operation for his son. The witness concluded his testimony by saying that the Accused's door was open to help all people.
The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W3. The Accused answered in the positive.
W4, [redacted name]
The Presiding Judge asked the witness to provide his testimony without addition or omission, whereupon W4 took the legal oath.
The Presiding Judge asked W4 whether he knew the Accused and whether there was any familial relationship or enmity with the Accused. W4 answered in the negative for both questions.
W4 testified that he was detained in 2015 at the Palestine Branch, and was subsequently transferred to the State Security Branch. W4's family contacted the Accused, who interceded on W4’s behalf and secured his release from prison without payment of any monetary sum.
The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W4. The Accused answered in the positive.
W5, [redacted name]
The Presiding Judge asked the witness to provide his testimony without addition or omission, whereupon W5 took the legal oath.
The Presiding Judge asked W5 whether he knew the Accused and whether there was any familial relationship or enmity with the Accused. W5 answered in the negative for both questions.
The witness testified that he was a neighbor of the Accused. On one occasion in 2015 or 2016, a delegation from Deir Ez-Zor came to the home of the Accused, Ahmad Hassoun, to ask him to intercede to secure the release of detainees held by security forces. The Accused called Issam Zahereddin via mobile phone and requested that he release the detainees from prison. After that, [the witness] presented the Accused with a copy of the Qur'an as a gift.
In another instance, the Accused was asked to travel to Dar’a for reconciliation. The Accused requested that the security authorities organizing the reconciliation release of twenty-four detainees from the Military Security Branch so that he could bring them along as a gesture of good faith.
In a third instance, W5 concluded, security forces detained W5’s partner, and the Accused assisted in securing his release.
The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W5. The Accused answered in the positive.
W6, [redacted name]
The Presiding Judge asked the witness to provide his testimony without addition or omission, whereupon W6 took the legal oath.
The Presiding Judge asked W6 whether he knew the Accused and whether there was any familial relationship or enmity with the Accused. W6 answered in the negative for both questions.
The witness testified that in 2014, his son, Ibrahim, was detained for one year and nine months on charges of joining revolutionary factions. The Accused interceded to secure his release without anything in return.
The Judge asked the Accused whether he accepted the testimony of W6. The Accused answered in the positive.
The Court unanimously decided to adjourn the session for requests, formal indictment, and defense presentation.
The proceedings were adjourned at 12:30PM.
The next trial day will be on July 23, 2026, at 11AM.
___________________________
For more information or to provide feedback, please contact SJAC at [email protected] and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to SJAC’s newsletter for updates on our work