The petition copied below is the initiative of Haytham Manna – a Syrian human rights activist who helped found the Arab Commission for Human Rights (ACHR) and later became spokesperson for the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC). He currently lives in Paris.
Appended to the petition are the details of Dr Hassoun’s arrest and copies of his medical reports (in Arabic). These were also forwarded to me by Mr Manna.
Father Dave
Save the Life of Sheikh Dr Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun
Our academic and human rights institutions express their deep concern for the fate of Dr Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun. We address this message to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, His Holiness the Pope of the Vatican, the Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and all those who believe that the recognition of the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the international family constitutes the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.
Sheikh Hassoun earned his Ph.D. on the Shafi’i school of jurisprudence from Al-Azhar University and served as an imam in several mosques in his hometown of Aleppo. He held the position of Grand Mufti of the Syrian Arab Republic between 2005 and 2021.
On the religious level, Sheikh Hassoun played a prominent role in promoting rapprochement between Islamic schools of thought and interfaith dialogue. He firmly opposed the formation of religious political parties, arguing that their failure would be wrongly attributed to the failure of the religion they claimed to represent. He described himself as a believer, a Muslim, and a secularist. Sheikh Hassoun publicly opposed the U.S. and U.K. military interventions in Iraq and NATO’s intervention in Syria, which led to serious disagreements with the Association of Muslim Scholars and its Secretary-General, Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who supported NATO’s intervention in Libya.
On the Syrian front, Sheikh Hassoun maintained good relations with the peaceful national opposition and called for adherence to the Geneva Communiqué and later to UN Security Council Resolution 2254. On June 25, 2012, he stated that “whether the Syrian regime wishes it or not, it must change, because the whole world is changing.” He considered non-Syrian fighters to be in violation of both Syrian and international law. Sheikh Hassoun paid a heavy price for his positions: his son Saria was assassinated, yet he forgave the killers to prevent civil strife, while extremist Salafist-jihadist groups declared him an apostate.
It should not be forgotten how decision-making processes under the former authorities worked. Regrettably, there is now an attempt to falsify all the religious and intellectual efforts undertaken by Dr Hassoun. Instead of engaging in dialogue with him regarding his positions on sectarian reconciliation and interfaith dialogue, campaigns are being waged to discredit him, portraying him alternately as an agent of the Iranian axis or a servant of the former Syrian regime. We recall the tragedy of the assassination of Dr Muhammad Said Ramadan Al-Bouti and how long it took to fully understand this distinguished religious figure and his true positions. We fear a similar tragedy may occur again.
Our human rights and academic institutions, after collecting testimonies from various parties—including new officers in the military and security apparatus—call on the Syrian authorities to put an end to this grave violation of Dr Hassoun’s rights, to release him immediately, and to allow him to receive the necessary medical treatment to avoid a fatal outcome. The attached medical reports clearly indicate that his right to life is at imminent risk and urgent treatment is required. Signatory Organisations:
- Scandinavian Institute for Human Rights / Haytham Manna Foundation (Geneva)
- International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights (Geneva)
- Pulse for Humanitarian Solutions (Geneva)
- Syrian Center for theoritical Studies and Civil Rights (Damascus)
- International Refugee Committee (Geneva)
- Geneva Academy of International Law and Diplomatic Relations
- Damascus Center for Theoretical Studies and Civil Rights (Sweden)
- Syrian Medical Committee (Paris)
- Arab Commission for Human Rights
- Amman Center for Human Rights Studies
- Arab Organization for Human Rights in Libya
- Al-Damir Association for Human Rights – Gaza, Palestine
- Tunisian Association of Democratic Women
- Khiam Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture – Lebanon
- Organization for the Support of the Rights of the Palestinian People (Hashd)
- Global Coalition for Solidarity and Defense of Palestinian Prisoners
- Tunis Center for Freedom of the Press
- Shams Center for Media and Human Rights – Palestine
Appendix 1: Account of the Arrest
The story of Dr. Badr al-Din Hassoun’s arrest, as documented, follows:
The former Mufti moved from his home in Abu Rummaneh, Damascus, to the Dama Rose Hotel on December 8, 2024. Two days later, a group of four individuals, led by Abu Omar al-Darawi, stormed Dr. Hassoun and his wife’s hotel room armed with weapons and pointed them at him. A group from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alerted them and pursued them. They demanded that the armed group lower their weapons, telling them that “Sheikh al-Sharaa (President al-Sharaa) had granted Dr. Hassoun safety.”
However, Abu Omar al-Darawi filmed a clip in which he said, “This is His Eminence the Mufti of the Barrels.” At this point, Dr. Hassoun responded, “I am not the Mufti of the Barrels.”
The HTS members intervened and asked him to stop the recording and delete it. He responded, “I deleted it, please.” However, he was lying and later republished it. On 12/22/2024, Dr. Hassoun decided to go to Aleppo after learning that President Sharia had granted him safe passage to his family home. However, the home had also been stolen by an outlaw group, so Hassoun stayed at a relative’s house. When his home was ready, he returned on 1/24/2025. He stayed at home and did not leave. His back pain began to intensify, along with a limp right leg due to a mass in his neck pressing on his spinal cord. On 17/2/2025, he was forced to go to the hospital, but some people noticed his presence and informed another group. This group followed the car. When His Eminence the Mufti wanted to leave, they attacked the car and began cursing and insulting him. He immediately returned home, and media outlets began mobilizing that the Mufti was at home. Some media influencers called on him to attack his home, but he managed to escape through a back entrance to the building. The house was stormed and the door smashed, as the media reported. On February 18, 2025, Dr. Hassoun decided to travel to Damascus with his family. Upon arriving, a young man from the security forces called and asked, “Where is Dr. Ahmed?” He was informed that he was in Damascus. The caller, named Muhammad Ahmad Barhoum, a security officer, and Major Malek, who had filmed His Eminence the Mufti with his cell phone, said, “I am coming to you from Aleppo to Damascus immediately.” On February 20, 2025, when the young men arrived in Damascus, they demanded that the Mufti wear his full attire, including a turban. They took him in a Mercedes and a Range Rover escort to one of the security branches. He was mistreated, stripped of his turban, placed it under his feet, placed his cloak over his head, covered his face, and forced to climb several floors, suffering from back and leg pain. He was taken to a room and interrogated for an hour. He was forced to pledge not to leave the house. After this assault, Dr. Hassoun’s health deteriorated, and several of those following his case from the “Military Operations Room” agreed to allow him to leave the country for medical treatment in Jordan. The flight was booked on 3/25/2025.
Dr. Hassoun went to the airport with his wife and children. A boarding pass was issued in his name. When his passport was stamped, they informed him that he was subject to a travel ban. A young security officer entered the VIP lounge and said, “Where is Hassoun? Come with us.” They took him to the office, and his photos were taken by some officers who eavesdropped on his inattention and photographed him. (He was also photographed while he was being interrogated, and the photos were leaked days after his arrest.) After the Mufti was detained by the airport officer, a group of young members of the General Security arrived and took Dr. Hassoun alone to the Intelligence Branch. From that time, after 80 days of detention and searches, it was revealed that he was being detained in Sarmada.
Regarding the details of his arrest and the inhumane and shameful treatment:
In the details of his arrest, Dr. Hassoun spent 16 days in Damascus in solitary confinement, which consisted of a toilet with a mattress on top. The mattress was raised for use in the bathroom, then lowered for use in the toilet, and then lowered for use in the bedroom. During this period, Mr. Hassoun was beaten on the face and back, where the disc pain he suffered from was located, along with insults. Very bad, and they told him to choose how he would be killed: by sword, hanging, or shooting. A sword was placed around his neck, and then someone said, “We will have mercy on him if we kill him with the sword, so let’s hang him.” He was forced to stand on his feet, and they lifted him onto a rock, put a noose around his neck, and tightened it around his neck while they chanted “Allahu Akbar.” Then they lowered him and beat him. A few days later, they brought a young man and told him to wrap the goldfinch around him and kiss it. They then took pictures of him and said, “This is the sodomite mufti.” After a while, the mufti was transferred to Sarmada prison, blindfolded and handcuffed. They stopped him in a rest area and shouted, “Come and see the cursed goldfinch!” Some people came and started cursing him. Dr. Hassoun arrived at Sarmada prison about two months ago. He was placed in solitary confinement and monitored by a camera. He was only allowed out of solitary confinement every 15 days to breathe for only two hours. Mr. Hassoun’s weight lost 18 kg during this period, and he told his sons that food Very rarely, only once a day. An Interior Ministry officer contacted the sheikh’s family to offer his condolences. He explained that they didn’t want what happened and that the president respected Sheikh Ahmed with special respect, but public opinion was what prompted them to arrest him. He promised that he would speak with the president to have Dr. Hassoun return to the home of one of his sons in Damascus under house arrest, monitored by security forces, after obtaining the approval of the president, Interior Minister Khattab, and the sheikhs. A date was set for Friday, the 13th of this month (the sixth), when Dr. Hassoun would be at his home. The family waited until 1:00 a.m. and contacted the officer, who indicated that a problem had occurred that had halted the process, and that the Transitional Justice Group had refused to allow Mufti Hassoun to leave. This was followed by an organized media campaign to denigrate Dr. Hassoun and stigmatize him in Gulf and official media outlets with every humiliating and shameful description, even claiming that he had signed off on all the executions that had taken place since 2011.
Appendix 2: Copies of Medical Reports
(click to see full-size images)
