Syrian military court sentences three over coastal unrest

A military criminal court in Aleppo on Thursday issued verdicts against four defendants involved in the Syrian coastal unrest.

The rulings include a death sentence for one defendant, life imprisonment for a second, a 20-year prison term for a third, and acquittal for the fourth.

Zakaria Bakkar, head of the military criminal court, announced in the courtroom that Hadi Qabalan was sentenced to death after being convicted of "acts intended to incite civil war and sectarian strife, and participating in an armed group confronting security forces, resulting in the deaths of more than two people."

Another defendant was convicted of "participating in an armed gang tasked with committing murder, robbery, and looting," and sentenced to life in prison.

A Ministry of Defense member was found guilty of "premeditated murder" and sentenced to 20 years in prison, with time served during pretrial detention counted toward the sentence.