Two men have been sentenced to death and several others handed prison terms over the deadly violence that swept Syria's coastal region in March 2025, when more than 1,400 people were killed amid widespread attacks on civilians.
The sentences were handed down on Thursday by a military criminal court in Aleppo as part of ongoing proceedings against suspects accused of involvement in the violence, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
The rulings included death sentences for Al-Waddah Ismail and Maher Ali, a 20-year prison sentence for Mohammad Bakour, and a 12-year sentence for Maher Othman.
The court sentenced Bakour to 20 years in prison after convicting him of intentional murder, while Ammar Abdul Aal received a three-year sentence for torture, SANA reported.
The court also convicted Captain Mustafa Shannan and Khaled Muhaimid, both members of the Defence Ministry's 54th Division, of complicity in torture and sentenced them to two years in prison.
Abdul Raouf Bakrjan and Mohammad Zarzouri were acquitted, while Mahmoud Shaheen, another Defence Ministry member, received a two-month prison sentence for assault.
In a separate case linked to the massacre in Syria's coastal region, Ismail and Ali were sentenced to death after being convicted of offences involving acts intended to incite civil war and sectarian fighting, as well as leading armed groups formed to attack government forces.
Othman was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of complicity in the same offences.
The latest rulings form part of ongoing judicial proceedings aimed at holding those responsible for the March 2025 massacre to account.
The unrest involved armed clashes, military operations and widespread abuses against civilians, prompting calls for justice and accountability for perpetrators regardless of their affiliations.
On 17 September 2026, the military criminal court in Aleppo issued earlier verdicts against defendants involved in the same events, including death sentences, life imprisonment and 20-year prison terms, alongside the acquittal of one defendant.
The trials have attracted considerable attention as a major test of Syria's efforts to address abuses committed during the coastal violence.
Syrian authorities face the challenge of establishing individual criminal responsibility and ensuring that those implicated in abuses are held accountable through transparent judicial proceedings.
The violence erupted in Syria's coastal region in March 2025, beginning with attacks by armed groups linked to the former Assad regime against security and military positions.
The attacks were followed by military operations during which widespread violations against civilians, particularly from the Alawi community, were reported.
A national fact-finding committee investigating the coastal massacre previously documented the deaths of 1,426 people, including 90 women, and identified 563 suspects allegedly involved in abuses committed by different parties.