Syrian man gets life in prison for role in militia linked to Iran

Abdul Jabbar Ghazi Arziq was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after a Syrian court found him guilty of joining an armed faction tied to the former government. The verdict comes as the country continues to address crimes committed during the rule of the Assad regime. State media confirmed the ruling, which marks one of the first high-profile prosecutions involving a militia linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The court determined that Arziq was a member of Liwa al-Quds, also known as the Jerusalem Brigades. This group recruited primarily from the Bab an-Nayrab Palestinian Refugee Camp east of Aleppo. Analysts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies described the unit as holding light arms, mortars, and short-range rockets, while noting its close ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the IRGC.

In April 2023, the group claimed responsibility for rocket fire from Syria toward the southern Golan Heights. The attacks targeted the Israeli towns of Netur and Avni Eitan. Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese network affiliated with Hezbollah, reported the claim at the time. The current court proceedings classified these actions, along with the group's broader goals to incite civil war and seize cities, as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Radif Mustafa, director of the Accountability and Prosecution Department at the National Commission for Transitional Justice, explained the reasoning behind the sentence. He told the state news agency SANA that the severity of the acts and the threat to civilian safety were key factors. The court also rejected the defendant's request for mitigating circumstances.

Mustafa stated that the ruling establishes that political shifts do not erase past crimes. The judge ruled that Arziq is ineligible for any future gender-based or special amnesty. The commission plans to continue its work to ensure that victims of the previous administration receive justice.